by Jessica Ryan
She knew he had a point. Things had been tense around town ever since Hawk had left. They were down two alphas with Hawk in the forest and Crow murdered. But Rowan had brought a fresh voice to the council they hadn't heard before.
His only complaints were how difficult Forrest was to work with. The Oakdale alpha always seemed to disagree with any diplomatic solution. The words Rowan had spoken the night before, when he had returned from his meeting, had chilled her to the bone.
"The man is impossible to deal with," he had said, pounding his fist onto the dresser. "He's such a goddamn brute. It's like he wants war! Does he want us all to die?"
Eva couldn't shake a feeling somewhere inside of her that said Rowan's words were truer than he thought.
Chapter 24
Ciara had been trying to ignore the pounding in her chest the entire climb. Hawk was moving easily along the wall, like a spider without a care in the world, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she was going to fall and die.
Thus far her alpha had had no trouble with the climb, but every time the wind blew she cinched her grip tighter and shut her eyes. She could feel the sweat pouring out of him, soaking her clothes as she pressed against his body.
The only thing that helped her along was the fact that all the sweating was making Hawk smell particularly manly. There was just something about his body that reminded her of a real man. Real men didn't need Axe Body Spray. No, all a real man needed was the smell of the earth. Since she had been so close to Hawk she had noticed the distinct smells of the forest coming from him, something that drove her absolutely wild.
It was just another thing that made Hawk so perfect she couldn't believe it. Where had this man been her entire life? She felt as if she had wasted her youth without such a strong, caring werewolf in her life.
It was a good thing the werewolves kept their existence a secret. If they hadn't, then human men would all but die out because all the women would be hunting a werewolf. She remembered husband hunters in college. They showed up to a class that started at the ass-crack of dawn, in full makeup and high heels. They spent most of the class with their eyes wandering for any eligible bachelor that might be unfortunate enough to meet their gaze. After that it was academic, they'd start eye-fucking the shit out of the guy, making him hard while some aged professor droned on about the Bay of Pigs or calculus or whatever class she happened to be sitting in. After class he'd ask for the girl's number and a year later she'd be calling her parents to tell them she was engaged.
It happened on every college campus across the country and it made Ciara sick. However, all those girls would abandon college and start going on camping excursions if they knew there was a dominant, powerful werewolf waiting to whisk them away and see to their every need. A werewolf wouldn't cheat on you like a regular man would and he'd kill anyone who brought harm to you.
"How are you doing back there?" Hawk asked.
Ciara hazarded a glance to the side and nearly slipped off Hawk as she felt the sweat begin to pour out of her body. One of his thickly-muscled arms was reaching for a handhold. As his hand wrapped around the jagged rock, every muscle flexed. She could feel the thick, ropey muscles in his back pop as he pulled them sideways before continuing their climb up. If she wasn't forced to be on the climb, she'd be happy to sit back and watch Hawk climb all night long. It would be better than porn. She didn't even know the human body had as many muscles as Hawk displayed every time he pulled them up or to the side.
"I'm doing fine," she answered, burying her face in his sweaty back. "Are we almost there?"
"We’re getting close." He answered her as if they were standing on the ground having a pleasant conversation—he wasn't even out of breath. Ciara made a mental note to begin an intense workout regimen if she lived through this whole ordeal. She didn't plan on letting Hawk go, and she needed to whip her body into shape if she wanted to keep up with him. Then again, her curves were what he seemed to enjoy. It was quite the conundrum: try to improve her body or stay curvy and full to please her man? She wasn't sure any woman had ever experienced a pickle like that. Usually it was the other way around: stay happy with the way you are, or improve your body for some man.
"Are you tired at all?" she asked.
"A little, but not too bad. I can keep going for a long time."
"You're amazing."
"It's nothing, just part of being a wolf."
"What are we going to do when we get there, Hawk?"
"We're going to find out where Leena is and go rescue her."
"Are you going to leave me with Beorn?"
"What?"
Ciara had wanted to broach this subject since last night, but she hadn't been able to work up the courage. The answer that he might give frightened the crap out of her, but hanging onto him so far off the ground made it a little easier to approach.
"When we first met, you said you were going to leave me with Beorn, who would get me back to human civilization. You were going to move on from there and never see me again. Is that still what you plan to do?"
There was a long pause from Hawk. Ciara could feel her heart doing backflips along with her stomach. If he answered yes, she might as well let go and fall into the raging water below. Her life outside of Bucklin was a complete mess. There was no way she could go back to it, not now. Hawk had told her he would help her out with her financial trouble and he had made it sound like he wanted her to live with him, but at the same time he might have just been saying it to make her happy.
"I want you to return to Bucklin with me," he said. "I have claimed you as my mate already."
Ciara felt relief wash over her, enough to numb her extremities. She held on tighter as she felt the relaxation take hold.
"However, I may still have Beorn take you back," he said.
She immediately felt all the euphoria dissipate.
"Take me back where?" she asked, feeling tears starting to well up.
"To Bucklin to wait for me," he said. "You've felt the evil. Leena is possessed. There's no way I'd put you in that kind of danger."
The relief flooded back. Ciara didn't know how much longer she could take this extreme gamut of emotion she was running.
"What are you going to do when you find Leena?" she asked. "She's already tried to kill both of us. This time you'll be standing face to face with her."
"I plan on sending her back to her mate," he said. There was a cold determination in his voice that chilled Ciara. He knew what he was doing and had obviously made his mind up a long time ago.
"Aren't you afraid she'll come after you? What if she kills you right there on the spot? You can't fight a demon, can you?"
"I cannot. I do not think it will come to violence. I will release her to return to Abaddon. Hopefully she will be grateful that I have rescued her. If not, maybe she will see my face and remember me for who I am."
"Aren't you supposed to bring her back to town? I thought you told me that was the deal."
"I was. However, I do not believe such evil should be in our town. No, Ciara, I'm going to protect this town one last time before I step down as alpha of the Skyvale pack."
"Step down?"
"For you," he said. She could hear the sadness in his voice. This was not a decision he had arrived at lightly.
"Why do you have to step down for me?"
"Because I am leaving Bucklin forever after I save it."
"What?"
"I cannot deal with the harshness of the werewolf's way of life. Even when we try to humanize ourselves, we still end up barbaric. I'm leaving Bucklin to take you back to Stillwater to return to school, and I'm staying there with you."
Ciara was speechless. She hadn't expected this at all. How long had he been thinking about this? It seemed like such a big decision, yet he had it all planned out so perfectly.
"Do not worry about me," he told her. "This will be best for both of us."
"But your orders," she started to say.
"Fuck my orders," he
growled. "Aster wants her back in town because he thinks he can rekindle his relationship with her. He means to deceive everyone. He claimed he would not see her and would take a hands-off approach up to the exchange. I could see the deceit in his eyes. I know what he's going to do. He's going to return to her and try to convince her to return to him. That's why he's never taken a mate, despite being head alpha. He's been waiting for her to return. I don’t fully trust that he wasn't involved with Forrest during this whole ordeal."
"So you're just going to open this cabin and set her free?"
"Yes."
"What if she doesn't return to her mate?"
"She will. He is possessed and it is obvious she is. Abaddon took her because his host was looking for a vessel to place his mate in. Even if Leena does not want to return, the demon inside her will want to return to its mate."
"I hope you're right."
Again Ciara buried her face against Hawk's slick back, not wanting to have this discussion anymore. What he had said about returning to Stillwater made her happy, happier than she could ever describe with words. But would Hawk be happy? He was giving up his entire life, uprooting everything to move away with a girl he had just met. Hopefully he wouldn't resent her in twenty years.
If he makes it twenty years, she thought. What if Aster really was working with the other alpha? What if he killed Hawk because Hawk didn't follow orders? Hawk had complained about the murderous nature of many of his comrades. Would it be anything at all for the head alpha to punish someone who defied his orders? And what would they do to his mate and accomplice?
Chapter 25
Hawk looked up, finally feeling the effects of fatigue setting in. The top of the cliff was just a few feet away. If he wasn't so blasted tired he could easily hurl himself up and onto the flat ground, but for now he had to continue his slow climb.
Ciara had grown quiet since their earlier discussion about moving out of Bucklin. He was worried he had freaked her out, that he'd moved too fast for her liking. His experience with women didn't go far, but he'd read plenty of books and had seen TV shows that said you shouldn't go fast with the ladies. Hopefully he hadn't screwed it up; he definitely wanted to be with her more than anything else.
It pained him to think about leaving Bucklin, but the town didn't have anything to offer him anymore. Rowan was pretty much forcing Eva to stay and live in Bucklin with him because of their rules. What if she wanted to finish school? What if she wanted a job outside of Bucklin? Unfortunately Eva would never get to make those choices. She might very well not mind the missing choices, but he knew Ciara would.
She'd been in school when her legal trouble arose and he wanted to put her back there. It wasn't fair for her to make one mistake and have her life ruined forever. It happened every day, and it led to unproductive lives and sometimes to crime. Hawk was going to make sure Ciara was able to choose a better life for herself.
On top of all of that he was just so tired of watching, protecting and never worrying about himself. When he rescued Leena, that would be the final protection for Bucklin and he would have made up for his failure to act all those years ago. He could feel his atonement at hand followed by a life of happiness far away from pack politics and animalistic living.
Just a little bit farther, he thought, looking up one more time. I'm going for it.
Hawk began to push himself down, almost forming a slingshot with his arms as the bands. He tensed every muscle in his body and prepared to spring into the air, intending to land on solid ground.
"Hawk, what are you doing?" Ciara asked, panic beginning to show in her voice.
"Getting us off this cliff," he said.
"Hawk, no!" she screamed.
But it was too late. Hawk exploded into the air, flying with incredible speed towards the top of the cliff. He smiled as he realized he was going to make it. His smile was quickly replaced by a scowl as he felt searing pain in his back.
"I'm falling!" Ciara screamed.
The jump must have scared her, because she had let go of him and was sliding down his back. The only thing she could do was grab for whatever was in front of her; unfortunately it was Hawk's exposed flesh.
With all the athleticism he could muster he turned in the air, grabbing Ciara by the wrist as he flew just above the edge of the cliff. With a sickening thud he hit the ground hard, driving all of the air out of his lungs.
Unfortunately Ciara didn't make it up there with him. His muscles had lost all their strength when he hit the ground. He growled and cried out in pain, still holding tightly onto Ciara's wrist, but his grip was loosening by the second.
The jarring impact and the pull of Ciara's weight had caused his shoulder to dislocate. He tried to ignore the explosion of pain in his shoulder as he focused on not dropping the new love of his life.
"Hold on," he said, barely able to speak. "Don’t you dare let go."
"My shoulder!" she screamed, also crying out in pain. "The pain is too much!"
"Just hold on!" he growled.
Hawk twisted his body, positioning himself so that he could drape his other arm over the edge. With her other hand Ciara reached up and grabbed her salvation—Hawk's meaty, non-injured hand. With all his might he pulled her up over the edge of the cliff and deposited her on solid ground. Once he knew she was safe he rolled onto his back, clutching at his shoulder and gritting his teeth in pain. He was biting down so hard he thought his teeth would shatter. He was unprepared for this much pain from a simple dislocation.
"My shoulder," she said, rolling onto her side and clutching at her own shoulder.
Hawk pushed the pain out of his mind, trying to concentrate on his injured mate. It took everything he had just to roll onto his knees and crawl over to her.
"Where are you hurt?" he asked.
"My shoulder," she moaned, clutching at her right shoulder.
Hawk pulled her into a sitting position, cradling her against his chiseled chest. She buried her face against his slick, sweaty skin and began to sob.
"There is nothing wrong with your right shoulder," he said, looking it over and prodding at it. "I had you by the left hand while you hung."
Hawk froze, looking down at his own right shoulder as if he expected the answer to spring forth from his skin like some sort of alien being. It hung limply beside him, obviously separated from its intended place of rest. Ciara's right shoulder wasn't injured, but Hawk's was.
"The connection," he said. "The bond has been formed."
"What?" she asked, still sobbing. "What are you talking about?"
"Do you know what this means?" he asked, barely able to contain himself.
"Do I understand what what means?" she asked.
"Your shoulder injury!"
"What about it?"
"It's wonderful!"
"How the hell is it wonderful? It hurts so badly. I feel like I'm going to puke."
"So do I!" he exclaimed, unable to keep the smile off his face.
"Hawk," she said, her tone going low and her eyes narrowing. "What the hell are you talking about? You're acting like a nutcase."
"Don't you see, Ciara?" he said. "You're not injured, I am!"
"Still not making sense," she said, shaking her head.
"But you can feel my injury! That means we've established an emotional bond."
"Wait a minute," she said, her eyes growing wide. "Didn't you tell me about this earlier? Something about your friend Rowan and his human girlfriend?"
"Yes!"
"So that means we're mates?"
"True mates."
"I need a minute," she said, slapping her forehead with her hand. "A definite minute. What the hell, man?"
"We're meant to be together," he said, ignoring the pain in his shoulder and bursting with excitement. Hawk couldn't wipe the smile off his face. Long ago he had made the decision to remain celibate and not find a mate. However, there was a connection with Ciara that he couldn't deny and now that connection had come to fruition.
"I'm not sure," he said, frowning. "It's probably because the link is so brand-new to you and it occurred while we were under such duress. It'll calm down, I'm sure."
"When did we establish it?"
"I think just now. What were you thinking about when we were climbing?"
Ciara's face grew red and she tried to hide her beautiful emerald eyes. Hawk had thought her silence was a terrible thing; now he knew it was a good thing.
"Come on, babe," he said, taking her hand in his own. "Please tell me."
When she looked up at him she appeared to be fighting back tears. "I was just thinking about how wonderful it is that I met you. I was thinking about what a mess my life is and how life isn't a fairy tale. There's never a knight in shining armor to fly down and rescue you, but there was for me. But my knight doesn't wear shining armor. No. He wears fur and I love it. I thought it was selfish of me to want you to leave Bucklin to let me go back to school. Then I realized that it was what I wanted more than anything and I was wondering if I could be selfish just this one time?"
"You realized your feelings for me," he said, smiling. "I had already realized mine for you. That's all it took for the connection."
Hawk took his hand and placed it on Ciara's heart before placing her hand on his heart. "Feel that? That's yours. It will forever be yours. You know why? Because it's true. Nobody establishes an emotional bond unless they're truly meant for one another."
"Well, who am I to argue with fate?" she said, smiling weakly. "This is all happening so fast."
"It usually does with werewolves," he said, laughing. "Much faster."
"The pain is starting to subside," she said. "How is it for you?"
"It still burns like my shoulder is on fire. We have to get to Beorn's."
"Where is his cabin?" she asked, looking around in all directions.