Forbidden Attraction

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Forbidden Attraction Page 15

by Lorie O'Clare


  Josie gave him a quick look that Nicolo couldn’t read.

  “I bet you’d just love to roam our territory, wouldn’t you, Malta werewolf?” the spokesperson sneered, insulting him by not saying Nicolo’s name after the partial introduction.

  “I’d love to put an end to werewolves slashing their throats on barbed wire and killing themselves,” he snarled back, getting fed up quickly and not liking the sensation rushing inside him that he was missing something.

  “Seems to me that if you wanted to discuss the deaths of your werewolves, proper protocol would have you requesting a presence with our pack leader. But you wouldn’t want to do that, would you, Spalto?”

  Nicolo glared at the lunewulf. The lunewulf’s anger at their presence made sense. Their breeds hated each other. But suggesting he’d rather talk to several rogue lunewulfs over their leader was a direct bite on his integrity.

  “We were headed into your town when we spotted you three out here.” He doubted honesty would sway this thick-hided asshole, but he still hadn’t figured out why his instincts told him their anger didn’t come from not liking the smell of them. “If you don’t know anything, just say so. We’ll head back to our truck and into your town. Feel free to call your pack leader and announce us if you like.”

  It didn’t smell right when the three of them seemed surprised by his words. Nicolo let the lunewulf take his time answering. A cold wind hit the three of them and his hair lifted off his neck. But the tiny hairs on his flesh bristled while the smell of the three lunewulfs grew stronger.

  “Let him head in there,” the third lunewulf who hadn’t spoken until now said, glancing over at the spokesperson of the three. “I, for one, plan on being there when he’s taken down though.”

  “You’ve either got some really sharp teeth or you’re an idiot.” The spokesperson ignored the comment from the other lunewulf and glanced from Nicolo to Josie. “But I’m sure Bob would love to talk to you, and if you’re willing to run into our town, by all means, we’ll escort you.”

  “This isn’t about barbed wire.” Josie didn’t make it a question.

  The lunewulfs looked at him as if he’d just howled at the moon. Josie straightened, reaching a good six and a half feet. The lunewulf who’d piped up about Nicolo heading into town took a step backward, but the other two held their ground, puffing out what little chest each of them had.

  “I’m getting the same impression.” Nicolo glared at the lunewulfs. “I’ll ask you one more time. Have you found any barbed wire around here lately? And if so, did you detect the smell of humans?”

  “I think you should ask our pack leader that question, if you’re werewolf enough to face him, Spalto.”

  “Why don’t you tell us why you three are out here?” Josie stared at the lunewulf spokesperson until the male quit looking at him and squinted at Nicolo. “Seems you are quite a distance from your town.”

  “We’re in lunewulf territory. And so are you. Seems to me the question is more why the fuck are you really here?”

  Nicolo battled with his human and animal sides. They’d talked long enough. The lunewulf’s question had already been answered. Asking it again implied they believed Nicolo had lied.

  He barely managed to keep his teeth from growing. “If you smell any lies in the air, they sure as hell aren’t coming from either one of us,” he snarled, his voice thicker than it had been when he’d spoken before.

  The lunewulf spokesperson’s short blond hair suddenly poofed around his head, reminding Nicolo of a fucking poodle. His teeth pressed against his lips and he fisted his hands at his waist while he snarled at Nicolo.

  “You’ve got a lot of fucking nerve roaming our territory on the pretense of barbed wire. Tell us now where the hell you put her and you might live through the day.”

  Nicolo’s cell phone rang, but it took a minute before he acknowledged it. “What the fuck did you just say?” he hissed, moving slowly to remove his phone from his belt while studying the outraged lunewulf standing in front of him. “Tell you where the hell I put whom?”

  “Answer your phone.” Josie looked at him, but then growled a warning at the lunewulfs.

  Something didn’t make sense here. The lunewulf demanded he tell them where he’d put someone. That could only mean one thing! His heart stopped beating and for a long moment, he didn’t breathe.

  “Tell me Heidi isn’t missing,” he warned the lunewulf and then answered his phone.

  The intense fury he suddenly experienced made his eyes water. He didn’t even try to hide the atrocious smell of his emotion.

  “What?” he growled when he recognized Dimitri’s number.

  “Where are you?” His littermate’s tone rumbled. As usual, he was in a foul mood.

  Well, Nicolo wasn’t in the mood for Dimitri’s temper at the moment. “I’ll tell you later. What did you need?”

  “Get to the den right now. I need you here immediately.” Dimitri hung up.

  Nicolo opened his mouth to tell Dimitri he’d be there when he got there, but then heard the phone go dead.

  Josie raised an eyebrow questioningly. The three lunewulfs looked and smelled ready to attack. The lunewulf who’d been the quietest pulled his phone out and took a step back from the rest of them. More than likely calling for backup. At least the three of them knew they didn’t stand a chance against him and Josie.

  “You want to tell me what you meant by what you just said?” Nicolo challenged the lunewulf in front of him, taking a step closer and glaring down at him.

  “Let me make it real clear to you, Malta werewolf,” the lunewulf hissed, daring to clear the distance between them so that his nose almost touched Nicolo’s chin. “The only reason you’re still breathing right now is because I want to know what the hell you’re doing here. And you can cut the crap about barbed wire, because I’m not buying it.”

  “Do you smell a fucking lie on me?” Nicolo roared, taking an intentional step forward and knocking the lunewulf backward. “I don’t think you do. Tell me what the fuck you meant by what you said a minute ago before I rip your fucking throat out.”

  The two other lunewulf growled and Josie moved in on them, forcing them to back off and allow Nicolo free rein on the mutt who’d just pushed his luck too far. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught movement. Nicolo glanced over the lunewulf’s head and spotted the white blurs racing across the meadow toward them. More lunewulf—probably the backup the lunewulf had called for when he’d pulled out his phone. And they were in their fur.

  The lunewulf in front of him took advantage of his being distracted momentarily and leapt at him, amazingly stronger than Nicolo would have guessed.

  He fell back a few feet before steadying himself and then sent the lunewulf flying, roaring as his anger boiled over inside him.

  The lunewulf fell backward into his packmates, who grabbed him. The three of them snarled, the change tempting all of them, just as four more lunewulfs raced toward them. They slowed, growling and baring teeth while slowly circling the small group.

  “You stole one of our bitches,” the lunewulf spokesperson screamed at him, shoving his packmates off him and lunging toward Nicolo. “Now you enter our territory. What the fuck did you do with her?”

  Instead of attacking, Nicolo grabbed the lunewulf, holding him off the ground so they scowled at each other eye to eye. In spite of the struggle, Nicolo had strength on his side. He gave the lunewulf a hard shake, ignoring the snarls and closeness of the others who’d surrounded him.

  The bastard’s words sank in slowly, then hit his gut with a painful thud. “How do you know Heidi is missing? How long has she been gone?”

  “The female’s disappearance is news to us,” Josie told him. “We can make a mess of this meadow and kill a few werewolves today, or you can call your dogs off and we’ll help you search for her.”

  Calling any werewolf a dog was the lowest of insults. One of the lunewulfs who was in his fur lunged at Josie, teeth bared and claws e
xtended.

  Josie roared, the sound echoing through the meadow, and punched the lunewulf in the chest. The jerk went flying backward a good dozen feet, rolling head over heels while the others watched, stunned. Josie had been pushed too far and the gift ignited inside him. He turned on the others, his teeth extended and his straight black hair longer and wild-looking. He jumped toward them, his arms extended, and suddenly all of them flew backward, rolling in the snow as if some incredible wind had attacked them and blown them off their paws.

  This would get worse before it got better. Nicolo’s brain raced. Her pack couldn’t find Heidi. They thought he’d taken her. She’d disappeared.

  “I don’t have time to destroy a bunch of lunewulfs,” he growled and threw the lunewulf he held to the ground, unable to send him flying the way Josie had the others but still satisfied. “I had no fucking clue that Heidi was missing. But now that I know, I’m going to find her. Get in my way and you’ll die.”

  The lunewulf scurried to his feet, but hesitated. Maybe he’d finally bothered to inhale and had learned that Nicolo didn’t lie.

  Nicolo ignored the rest of their pack, who’d managed to come to their paws but stood waiting, more than likely deciding attacking might not be to their advantage. He turned, marching across the meadow toward his truck. Josie could follow or play in the meadow for the rest of the damned day for all he cared. All that mattered at the moment was figuring out when she’d last been seen and taking it from there. And for that, he needed to pay her pack leader a visit.

  Chapter Eleven

  “Are you okay?” Heidi stretched in the cave that barely offered enough room for her to stand and then quickly reached for her clothes.

  The sun was bright along the entrance of the stone walls, but it was still cold as hell. She watched Maura blink and then focus one silver eye on her. Her friend remained in her fur, lifting her head and sniffing the air.

  “I think it’s midday or so, but I haven’t been outside yet.” Every muscle in her body screamed from sleeping on cold rock all night. “You can sleep if you want and I’ll go outside and see what’s in the air. I’m sure they know we’re gone by now.”

  She finished dressing quickly, dying to simply run to the Malta werewolf pack. Maura was with her now though, and until she knew the bitch was okay, they would have to stay put.

  She slipped her coat over her sweater and then slid between the rocks that had blocked the cold night wind while they slept. She licked her lips and felt how dry they were while she worked to swallow the foul taste out of her mouth. What she wouldn’t do for a hot cup of coffee and a shower. For now, they would both have to settle for freezing spring water and raw fish. Her stomach growled at the thought of fresh meat. Once Maura was up, they’d go hunting. But first, she needed to know they were safe.

  Her lungs filled with the scent of pine and the small rodents that scurried around rocks, detecting her scent at the same time that she noticed theirs.

  “What’s it like out there?” Maura asked from behind her.

  “I don’t smell any werewolves.”

  “You know they’ll be combing the mountain for us.”

  Or charging into the Malta pack demanding her return. That had been the only thought that had made her hesitate when Maura suggested they run together.

  “I wonder if Nicolo knows yet,” she mused out loud.

  They’d left during the night, waiting until the pack had headed out on a run and then going in the opposite direction. They’d headed south, away from both their mountain and the Malta werewolves’ mountain.

  “I bet if Pete knows, he hasn’t told anyone.” Maura appeared behind her, digging her hands into her coat pocket.

  Heidi turned on the narrow passage and stared at her friend. “Your eye looks better.”

  Maura lowered her head and her long blonde hair fell around her face, partially covering it. “He’s an asshole. I’m not going back to him, Heidi. Even if they find us. Bob can’t make me stay with the jerk.”

  “Seriously, there is hardly any bruising left today.” Heidi stared at the pale green discoloration under Maura’s eye when the bitch looked at her.

  Her blood boiled thinking that any lunewulf would strike Maura. She’d attack Pete herself if given the chance. And simply because he returned to their den before Maura made it back from Heidi’s. The asshole needed his throat ripped out.

  “You don’t lie very well,” Maura said, smiling. She pushed her way past Heidi and stared down the mountain at the rocks and cliffs below them. “It’s so beautiful and peaceful here.”

  “It would be better with a hot pot of coffee.”

  Maura snorted. “Don’t even mention that.”

  “I smell water over that way. And it seems, if I remember right, we ran close to a waterfall last night. Let’s change and see if we can’t catch breakfast.”

  “All I remember about last night was following your ass.” Maura climbed up onto a rock and squatted, her blonde hair falling down her back while she rested her elbows on her knees. “How far would you say we are from our pack?”

  Heidi pointed at the mountain range spread out before them. The view was breathtaking, and if it weren’t for the seriousness of their actions—running from their pack, defying the orders of their pack leader and disappearing without telling anyone—Heidi would swear she’d found the most peaceful spot on earth. If only she hadn’t brought the trauma going on in her life along with her in her mind.

  “I’d hate to guess how many miles. But that mountain there is ours, and the mountain over there belongs to the Malta pack. Cuchara would be over there, and then Valle on the other side of that mountain.” She pointed as she spoke. “We ran for a few hours, but we did a lot of climbing and working our way around rocks and cliffs.”

  “If I hadn’t been half blind, it would have been kind of fun. Kind of like the old days.” Maura turned to look down at her. “We had some good times, didn’t we?”

  “Yeah, we sure did.” Running without direction didn’t appeal to her like it once had though. She had somewhere she wanted to run now and someone she wanted to run to. An uncomfortable ache wrapped around her heart when she imagined how outraged Nicolo might be if news reached him that she’d run. “Let’s hunt up some breakfast.”

  Maura jumped off the rock and joined her in the small cave they’d sniffed out the night before. Any rodents or small creatures that might have considered the place home had quickly disappeared when the two deadly female predators appeared.

  Heidi moved to the far corner of the small area—the entire cave just a bit larger than her bathroom—and quickly stripped back out of her clothes. Maura did the same, and the two of them rolled their clothes and then wrapped their coats around them.

  Her heart picked up speed quickly while she shivered uncontrollably and closed her eyes, allowing the change to take over and bring her warmth. The smells of the cave grew richer, the sounds outside more acute. Her bones popped and stretched as her muscles changed shape. Heidi dropped to all fours, savoring every moment of the change that made her so much more than human.

  Instinct kicked in hard and fast and finding food suddenly became paramount on her list of things to do. She followed Maura out of the cave, jumping over rocks and leaping down the mountain much faster and easier than either of them could have done on two feet.

  Where she’d only been able to guess where water ran down the mountain while standing outside the cave, now she easily smelled and heard the rushing sounds of it tumbling over rocks. Eager to bathe and catch breakfast, the two of them wasted no time running toward the sound.

  Maura’s happiness as she pranced through the shallow pool of fresh mountain water lifted Heidi’s mood. It had been quite a while since she’d seen the carefree side of her friend. When they had been younger, Maura had been known for her wild side—a family trait that ran thick among the DeBeaux females. A bitch without much of a den, Maura had survived by moving from pack to pack until she’d met Heidi i
n a pack in Prince George up in Canada. Heidi viewed those days as another lifetime and had no regrets that they were gone. But watching Maura lap at the water, dive after fish and bark at her playfully made Heidi feel better about agreeing to escape the suppression the two of them experienced in their current pack.

  Sated and stuffed from the fish they’d caught, Heidi stretched out on cool, uncut grass and relaxed in the sunlight, letting her coat dry. Maura rolled around next to her, grunting and growling while she kicked her legs up in the air and panted like a happy idiot. If her vocal chords had allowed it, she would have laughed out loud at how ridiculous Maura looked.

  Instead, she closed her eyes, instantly seeing Nicolo in her mind. His powerful presence, whether in his fur or skin, warmed her quickly. He was a werewolf of strong convictions, and she worried he would regret taking her in her fur when he learned that she’d bolted. She didn’t want him to see her as too wild. Because really, she wasn’t. Settling down, having a den to call home and smelling love and happiness every time she entered it sounded so damned good her heart ached for it. And she ached for Nicolo.

  She’d planned on calling and telling him as much yesterday after Maura left her den. But then Bob had shown up, deciding she needed to come to his den for dinner. Telling him no would only have made her predicament worse. Even though the last thing she wanted to do was spend time with his den and watch him and his mate cuddle while their clubs played at their feet, she’d agreed to come over. Her cell phone had rung twice while she’d been there. Both times, Bob had taken the phone from her, frowned at the number and ended the call without answering it. She’d been pissed as hell when he’d told her he would return the phone to her the next day and had decided it would be best to change her number. Maura had shown up after she’d returned to her den, crying and insisting she was going to run. Heidi couldn’t let her run by herself.

  Had Nicolo been those two calls? Bob would have let her answer if he’d thought the calls harmless. She had to believe he’d tried to call her. But what would Nicolo think when she hadn’t answered?

 

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