Laird Wolf

by Vivian Arend

  Torn by indecision, Addie hesitated. Yet one heartbreaking cry later, she couldn’t take it any longer. No matter what the cost, she had to help him.

  Addie crawled back on the bed, took a deep breath, and laid her hand on his chest.

  Darkness and pain swept over her. His pain. His loss.

  She gritted her teeth. She could take it away. A little effort, and the memories would fade, and his distress would diminish, but to do so without his permission was hugely invasive.

  But she couldn’t bear to leave him suffering, so she did the only other thing possible.

  She took it all herself.

  No longer did pain dance on the surface of her mind like the heat of a distant fire against her skin. Instead, a set of red-hot daggers struck deep. Temporary relief for him meant temporary agony for her. She went from sharing his hurt to carrying it alone, and the weight threatened to make her pass out…

  …and his wolf arrived. The secretive beast she’d only caught the faintest glimpses of over the past week.

  Mine.

  Mine.

  The simultaneous announcement came from the wolf inside her and from Damon’s wolf. While she struggled to understand, the animal within Damon offered his power and his strength and his support. And all she could do was the mental equivalent of a jaw drop.

  Damon was her mate?

  The shock of it was huge, but there was no time to wonder because as much as the beast wanted to help, this moment was all on her and there was no turning back.

  She swept through Damon’s mind, drawing away all the suffering she found. Addie forced herself to remain under the cutting pain, taking the punishment for him.

  The entire time his wolf howled and roared in her ears, ordering her to stop. Demanding she wake Damon’s human side so they could deal with this together.

  Fat chance. He might be an Alpha, but she’d been dealing with emotional chaos for a long time, and while the new knowledge Damon was her mate was awesome, and amazing, and incredible, she was powerful enough to fight his wolf’s command and finish what she’d begun.

  It should have ruined her. Should have taken all her energy and left her head aching and her soul torn, but somehow, even as she drew off the hurt from Damon, the other parts of them helped carry the burden. Their wolf sides soothing the pain as well.

  She’d never experienced anything like it—and joy rippled through her.

  Damon and their wolves made her stronger.

  Then the sweet, soft caress of her wolf shifted focus to nudge against Damon’s other side. Calming his beast, distracting him until the man before her stopped shaking. Until the animal side took a deep breath and gave in as well to the suggestion to sleep.

  Not until Damon’s face relaxed and she was positive both he and his wolf rested peacefully did Addie draw back her hand to stare in amazement. For whatever reason, the barrier between them was gone, and they were mates.

  Her heart still pounded, and she should have felt exhausted from what she’d just done, but glory hallelujah, she and Damon were mates and she could have run a marathon, she had so much energy.

  But as much as she wanted to bounce on the bed and shout out loud to make sure he knew as well, she couldn’t bear to wake him. Not when he’d finally relaxed, the faintest of smiles curling his lips. Her mate needed to sleep.

  Her mate. The wonder of it boggled her.

  She slipped on clothes, escaping from the room before she was tempted to change her mind. The morning would be soon enough to discuss their incredible, while whacky, change of situation. In the meantime, she was awake; she might as well do something productive.

  Addie all but danced down the stairs and the hall, glancing around instinctively as she went to be sure no one else was awake. She headed back to the library, her middle-of-the-night still-jumbled thoughts drifting as she passed through long, empty halls.

  She propped a pile of books in the doorway to make sure there were no further accidental locked-in incidents.

  But instead of getting straight to work, she wandered. Wonder and amazement keeping her from her tasks.

  There was no use trying to figure out why they hadn’t recognized each other as mates right away. She had to wait until morning for that answer.

  Instead, she got caught up in anticipation. Not about here and now, but the future. That they were mates—it explained so much. The draw she’d felt to him, the craving to touch. And after getting to be with Damon, to play with him and enjoy his company, she was so grateful she didn’t have to give him up.

  She had fallen for him hard, and in the big picture of wolves and mates and all the rest, that was like the icing on an enormous cake she was about to gorge herself on for the rest of their lives.

  He was a good man. She liked his sense of humour and the way he cared for her. The way he looked at her whenever they were together, the intent focus in those blue eyes that made her feel as if she was the most important thing in his world.

  Together they could find a way to deal with her weirdo wolfie ways, she was sure of it.

  Her gaze drifted as she pondered, settling on a row of golden leather journals lined up at the top of the first-storey bookcase.

  Something itched at the base of her spine, like a memory wanting to burst free. A second later it rushed her—those strange journals she’d been seeing everywhere. She’d assumed the scattered books were part of a set, and now that she saw the others, she was certain of it. The tone of the spine, the distinctive leather cover—

  But there wasn’t enough room on the shelf to fit the number of books dispersed all over the manor.

  Damn fool.

  It hadn’t been a half dozen misplaced leather journals she’d seen—it was the same journal that had shown up all over the place, although how on earth the book had skipped from place to place, and why, she had no idea.

  Maybe the rest of the set would offer a clue. Addie hurried toward the bookshelf, smiling in remembrance of her and Damon’s earlier adventures on the ladder as she slid it into position and climbed. The row of golden-skinned tomes sat regally, all there except for one, the narrow gap where it should have been mocking her.

  She was reaching for one of the remaining books to examine it when something crashed against the outer wall of the manor.

  She slipped down the ladder, heart pounding and made her way to the window, surprised to find it propped open. She poked her head out in time to see a shadowy figure disappear around the nearby angled roof section.

  Holy moly, she’d been right about the weird goings-on around the place. Addie crawled on the windowsill and out onto the wide, fairly flat rooftop behind it. She wasn’t getting in over her head—she promised herself to stay far back and out of danger. But someone had been in the room, and after all of those times of feeling as if she was being watched, she wanted to know who it was.

  Besides, she was a freaking wolf shifter. Her wolf’s hackles went up, and her teeth itched to appear. If someone wanted to mess with her, they would have one pissed-off lupine on their hands.

  Out on the roof, she inched forward until she could poke her head over the edge to peek at the balcony below her. A tall, robed figure clung to the railing, staring down toward the courtyard. The wind rushed past and his hood fell away to reveal blond hair. She forced her lips together, holding in her anger, wondering what Niall was up to.

  The wind shifted, and a new scent reached her. Familiar, and completely out of place. Addie turned away from Niall and went tracking.

  Damon woke, totally confused by the sense of urgency clawing at him. The bed was soft and comfortable, and he stretched slowly, not wanting to disturb Addie.

  Only she was gone, and the empty space beside him was cold to his touch. A quick examination of the entire room proved she was nowhere in sight.

  Inside, his wolf was no longer hiding in the dungeon or wherever it had banished itself for the past week. The beast was right there rattling the chains, wanting out. Wanting to protect, n
eeding to seek out and find their—

  Mate.

  Holy fucking shit.

  Damon jerked to a stop outside of the tower room, shocked at what his wolf was all but howling at him, wondering how in the hell he hadn’t known until this moment.

  Wondering how in the hell it could be true.

  He raced down the stairs, jumping the last section and landing in a crouch as he teetered on the line between human and animal. Something was wrong, Addie was in trouble.

  He had no idea how he knew, but he knew, and the idea he had failed her sent nausea rolling through him like a flash fire before it was burned up by ferocious anger.

  He should have been protecting her. He could have protected her if his damn wolf hadn’t been hiding. Hadn’t been keeping fucking secrets.

  Damon hit the main level, following her scent toward the next staircase when he caught a glimpse of a furry body ahead of him.

  He lunged after the beast, catching up with the oversized cat and grabbing its tail. The animal screamed and shifted, transforming into a very agitated Alastair.

  Holy shit, that’s all a Highland Tiger was? A glorified pussycat?

  “Where’s Addie?” Damon demanded, claws emerging as he wrapped a hand around Alastair’s throat.

  His enemy’s eyes bulged. “I haven’t seen her, I swear,” he squealed, hands clutching Damon’s fingers, scrambling to loosen his grip.

  “What are you doing skulking about in the middle of the night?”

  “I was following my brother. He’s up…to no good. He’s always up to no good. Can’t…” Alastair slapped feebly at Damon’s iron-hard grip, “…breathe.”

  Damon forced himself to let go, stepping in close and peering down from his full height as the other man shrank before him. “If either of you have done anything to hurt her, I will rip you apart.” His voice going slower and deeper until the words became a bloody promise.

  Alastair shook his head, retreating as rapidly as possible. “She went upstairs earlier, but I didn’t go near her, I swear. Please don’t hurt me.”

  Damon gave in to his beast, shifting so his senses were as keen as possible. He put his nose down and followed her scent toward the library where he found the door open and her iPad abandoned on the table.

  The trail led to the window, and he shifted back to human so he could scramble onto the rooftop. “Sweetheart, what the hell are you doing?” he whispered, fear a bitter taste on his tongue.

  He circled the rooftop and found Niall’s scent, and the sound that came from his throat was pure wolf. An animal cry as the beast remembered too much pain, too much loss.

  Not again, he reassured his wolf. They were not going to lose her.

  The beast wanted blood, but revenge wasn’t the most important thing. Damon slapped his wolf into submission and instead of following Niall’s trail, he reversed direction. Searching until he found the subtle scent where Addie had turned aside and gone down a different rooftop and over a small parapet to a balcony. He moved rapidly, breaking into a room where another one of the hidden passages he’d found began.

  Addie hadn’t been alone. As he hurried down the narrow stairs to the ground level, rushing into the cool morning air, he memorized the other scent. When this was over and he had her safely back, he would track down his enemy and give them the death they so clearly deserved for coming near his mate.

  The wolf that was Damon sped after her as dawn brightened the eastern sky. His paws smacked into the earth in a rapid rhythm, and the entire time the most impossible words repeated over and over.

  Mate. Mate. Mine.

  He wasn’t about to argue with the beast. Once he knew which direction they were headed, he let the animal take control, rushing them forward, seeking their goal. Damon darted through the gate at the far end of the estate, the scent increasing as he drew closer to the small group of homesteaders’ cottages. He moved into the shadows, ducking behind rose bushes until he reached the door of the cottage he’d been in before.

  Even as he shifted to human, he stifled the growl in his throat. His target was somewhere on the other side. He heard Glenn’s voice, waiting only long enough to be sure Addie was there as well before he kicked open the door, springing forward into the room like an avenging demon from hell.

  They whirled to face him. Glenn shot to his feet and threw a protective arm in front of his grandmam. Damon marched forward, stalking them, murder on his mind.

  Then Addie was there, standing between him and the others as her whisky-coloured eyes tempted him to focus on her alone.

  “Damon. Stop.” She laid a hand on his chest, and he caught her in his grip, circling her wrist carefully as he stared down at her, possessiveness flowing through his veins.

  She blinked rapidly but held her ground as he forced the words past vocal cords that seemed none too human. “Are you hurt?”

  “No.” Her instant response reassured him, as did the tender touch of her fingers as she stroked his cheek. But her body shook, and for one horrifying second he thought she was afraid of him.

  Then she jumped, wrapping her arms around his neck as she clung to him and offered a kiss. Lips that were soft, and warm, and tempting. As her taste rolled through him, the flash of inspiration he’d gotten before became absolute and complete fact.

  She was his damn mate.

  She pulled away too soon, tilting her head as she smiled. “I was listening to a story.”

  What the hell? “At five in the morning?”

  She nodded, slipping down his body but keeping her fingers locked in his as she tugged him toward the empty chair. Only in a group of shifters would the fact he was stark-naked not be an issue. She waved a hand reassuringly at Glenn, and he reluctantly returned to his seat.

  “We’re all okay. And Damon needs to hear this as well,” Addie insisted, squeezing his fingers.

  Glenn frowned. “Can we trust him?”

  Damon took the chair and, unwilling to let her go, tugged her onto his lap and enveloped her in his arms, protecting her like a shield.

  Yet as violent as he was prepared to be on her behalf, he could’ve been knocked over by a gnat as she spoke firmly in answer to Glenn. “Damon is my mate. I promise he’ll do what’s right.”

  Mate.

  She’d said mate. He hadn’t imagined it, and she knew as well, and holy shit.

  Mine. Damon’s wolf growled in satisfaction.

  “Of course he’ll do the right thing.” Grandmam Susanna this time, the old woman nodding her head toward them as an eager smile broke out. She shook her finger at her grandson before pointing back and forth between Addie and Damon. “See what you’re missing by not looking for true love?”

  Glenn rolled his eyes before facing his grandmam. “Let’s not talk about that.”

  She shook her head. “But that’s what we are talking about, my darlin’ grandson. It’s love that makes us do foolish things at times. But it’s love that makes things right in the end. I know that in here,” and she laid a withered hand over her chest, smiling deeply.

  The lines of her face spoke of years of history, but her attention was centered on the here and now. Whatever else was going on, the old woman was rational for the moment.

  Damon stroked a hand down Addie’s arm. What he wanted to do was figure out the mystery of how he had not known, but following Addie’s gentle guidance, he did the only thing he could—he listened.

  Although, they’d better make it fast. He had a shit-ton of questions to ask, and he wanted answers—now.

  Chapter Eleven

  Addie sat in Damon’s lap, enveloped in a welcome whirlwind of sensory input.

  She’d followed the trail all the way to the village, the scent growing stronger until she was sure of her mysterious person’s identity.

  But what Grandmam Susanna had been doing on the rooftops of the Sterling-Wylde manor, she hadn’t a clue.

  The cook vanished into her cottage before Addie caught up, and as she stood there, wondering what to
do next, she’d been surprised by Glenn popping out the door. All it had taken was a single touch on his arm to confirm the only things on his mind were shock at seeing her and concern for his grandmam.

  When she’d entered the small cottage and found the old woman going about her morning routine, she’d joined in, carefully slipping her fingers over Grandmam’s as she passed a cup of tea.

  A week ago, being touched by Niall had sent a roll of nausea through her, his overwhelming, self-centered lust a huge part of his personality. In contrast, what she received from Susanna was a gift of the purest kind.

  The elderly fox-shifter was a woman full of love. Love for her grandson, love for her job. And over it all, a rich sense of selfless love, so sacrificial she was willing to give up her secrets to provide for others.

  That small bit of Omega knowledge kept Addie in the cottage listening to the old woman’s rambling stories to discover the real reason she’d been in the manor.

  Damon was not supposed to appear like a Hound of Baskerville come to life. Correction—a very naked, very fine human beast with vengeance and fury in his eyes.

  And now his muscular hands were wrapped around her so tightly she was sure he would never let go. The barrier between them had vanished, and the strongest emotion in him was absolute astonishment.

  There were others. The attraction between them was powerful, with a fair share of lust that made her squirm in place before she carefully pushed it aside to enjoy later. His enormous attraction didn’t make her uncomfortable because it was a combination of desire and enjoyment. It included a thrill of delight as he considered ways to be together in pleasure and play.

  And for the first time she understood the strange sensation she’d always felt from him—his wolf in hiding. Hiding to keep the truth from coming out, although she still had no idea why.

  They were mates, and she wanted to dance with joy because it was perfect.

  Once they left the cottage they would deal with the ravaging fear that had taken him in the night, but right now it was time to solve another mystery. She pressed her hand to Damon’s cheek, and her wolf bumped against his. Calming him, and promising she was his.