by Lily Graison
"Are they still afraid of him?"
"Most are," she said. "Like I said, he hasn't been here much and when he is, he rarely speaks to any of us. He just comes in, checks on you, barks out a few commands for your welfare and leaves again. We're not even sure where he's going."
Rayna touched her stomach through the blanket and winced before inhaling deeply. The pain lessoned a few moments later and she looked back at Judith. "It was bad, then? Where Garrett..."
Judith's face went pale and she looked down at the bed before nodding. "Bad enough," she said. She glanced up quickly before diverting her eyes.
Dread settled like a hard pit in her stomach, tear's burning the back of her eyes an instant later. "Am I infected?"
Judith sighed. "No one ever really knows at first," she said. "I think that's why Garrett has been so ill with everyone. He feels guilty and is lashing out at everyone and every thing because of it."
"So there's no way to tell?"
"Not yet. Not really. I mean, the fact you're still alive makes me thinks so," she said. "The gash was deep and you lost so much blood. There's no way a human could have survived that without a little help."
"Help?" Rayna said.
"The infection," Judith said. "I think that's what kept you from dying right off."
"So I am infected?"
Judith shrugged her shoulders. "The fact you survived the attack could be nothing more than you got lucky. Lycanthropy develops in stages. There's no test for it but a person knows when something is wrong inside their body. You'll know before the rest of us if Garrett infected you."
Infected. The word slammed through Rayna's head repeatedly like a drumbeat. All the running, the fear and pain, Garrett's adamant claims that he'd protect her came crashing down with the realization that one misplaced swing ended it all. Garrett had infected her.
Inhaling deeply, Rayna pushed the thought away and focused her attention back on Judith. "How?" she said. "How will I know if I'm infected?"
Judith smiled but it was only the corner of her mouth. It looked forced and when she again diverted her eyes, Rayna's chest ached as her heart clenched. "Well, your senses are usually the first change you notice," she said. "You're hearing will improve, your sense of smell, your vision. The brush of someone's hand against your skin can even feel different." She looked up and shrugged her shoulders. "It's not the same for everyone but it wasn't but a few weeks after my attack that I felt it."
"Felt what?" Rayna asked. "The difference in your senses?"
"No. I felt the wolf."
Rayna swallowed the sudden lump in her throat and stared up at the ceiling. The wolf. Did she have one now, waiting under her skin? Growing. The tears she been fighting came then and she turned her head away from Judith and tried to fight them. A gentle hand on her shoulder was all it took. The first sob took her moments before Judith wrapped her arms around her and tried to calm her.
* * * *
Garrett walked into the house and didn't miss the startled yelps as he slammed the front door. The people on the bottom floor all lowered their heads and seeing them so submissive to him thrilled the wolf but made him, the man, sick to his stomach. They nearly pissed themselves every time he entered a room or looked at them. They hurried out of his way and fell over themselves to do his bidding the moment he asked for something. They were scared shitless of him and he didn't know why.
He started for the stairs and had climbed halfway up when he saw Bryce standing by the door of the sitting room. He stopped and walked back down, making his way across the foyer. "Let's talk," he said, motioning him inside and shutting the door behind them. When he turned, Bryce was standing next to the sofa, his head down. The bandage on his neck was still showing signs of blood but it was the first day he'd seen him when his color looked good. He'd been deathly pale for the past two days and regardless of how many times Judith had told him to lay down, the man had refused. Garrett sighed and crossed his arms over his chest and said, "Okay, explain it to me quick. I want to go see if Rayna is awake yet."
"Explain what?" Bryce asked.
"Why you unlocked that fucking collar and let the wolf out."
Bryce looked up and his shoulders relaxed. "I didn't like Malcolm's plan," he said, matter-of-factly. "I didn't like it when I was told, when I was forced to change so they could photograph me or when Malcolm arranged for Rayna to be here with the intention of infecting her. We had no choice but to do as Malcolm wished and I'm not the only one who disapproved of it. Most of the pack did. We weren't allowed to voice our opinion on the matter and were told if we mentioned it to Rayna, or her friend once they arrived, we wouldn't live to see the sunrise."
"Is that the only reason?"
The corner of his mouth twitched. "No. I knew if you were out you'd take care of all of them."
"You mean Malcolm and Caleb?"
"Yes." Bryce shifted on his feet and cleared his throat. "Things have changed since you've been gone, Garrett. Malcolm changed. His obsession with going public has been an ongoing issue for years. He ignored the pack and thought of nothing but himself. He talked about how great it would be to walk among the humans again but it was just talk at first. It wasn't until Carmen started crawling into his bed that she persuaded him to stop talking about it and just do it. He seriously started planning it after that."
Garrett walked across the room and sat on the arm of the chair. "So Carmen is who actually started all of this?"
"Yes. She's also the one who suggested Rayna."
He barely kept from growling. Why was he not surprised? "Have you seen her since that night?" he asked.
"No. No one has and I've had everyone looking for her. We haven't found Jacob or Stan either."
He did growl then. "Keep looking," he said, standing and crossing the room to the doors. "I want to know the minute any of them are spotted."
"Garrett? What are you going to do about the pack?"
"What am I going to do about them?" he asked. "What do you mean?"
Bryce shifted on his feet and glanced away. "You're pack leader now."
"No, I'm not," Garrett said, grabbing the doorknob.
"You killed Malcolm. That makes you leader whether you like it or not."
He stilled, staring down at the door before sighing. He knew this would be coming. Malcolm had even stated as much.
"With Caleb gone and his little rogue pack of wolves up at the mine, we need someone to stand up for us. Everyone is scared right now but they'll come around."
Garrett turned then, his eyes narrowing. "Why is that?" he said. "What are they so damned scared of? They nearly piss themselves every time I walk into the room."
Bryce laughed but sobered quickly. "You do remember the night of the fight, right?"
He did. Well, most of it, anyway. "What does that have to do with anything?"
"I've been here for fifteen years and not once in all of Malcolm's tantrums did he ever scare the pack the way you did that night. We thought you were going to go berserk and kill us all."
"My girl had just been sliced nearly in half, by ME! How the hell should I have acted?"
"The way you did, I guess," Bryce said, shrugging his shoulder. "Still didn't keep any of us from fearing for our life. If anything, it only made it more plausible that you would."
He leaned back against the door, crossing his arms back over his chest. "So, they're just... waiting for me to go crazy and kill them all?"
"Yes."
"Then why haven't they run yet?"
Bryce grinned. "And go where?"
"Away from me?"
"Why would they leave the only pack leader they've known that could kick some ass without any help?"
"They're staying because they're afraid of me?"
"Basically, yes," Bryce said, grinning. "All any of us want is a place to belong, Garrett. A place we feel safe, with a leader who we all know will help us achieve that."
Garrett ran a hand over his face and shook his head. "I can't give th
em something I don't have in me, Bryce. I don't want this. I never did."
"It doesn't matter if you want it. It's yours regardless. Besides, if Rayna shifts, she'll need the help of the pack until she can control her wolf."
If Rayna shifts. The guilt returned then and cut through Garrett like blades of glass. It sucked the air from his lungs and caused his blood to run cold. He'd been terrified when he saw her cut open, blood spilling from her body faster than he could staunch it, knowing he had caused it. He had been the one to do exactly what he'd been fighting to prevent. He had infected her. Although it took weeks for a person to know if an infection occurred, he knew. It had. She wouldn't have survived an injury like the one he'd inflicted on her otherwise. The fact she was still alive told him she'd shift. All because he hadn't been smart enough. Hadn't fought hard enough. If he had never met her, she'd still be in Bluff's Point, driving the police department crazy as she tried to write her latest article. If he had never fallen in love with her, Carmen wouldn't have found her. Wouldn't have lured her down here. She wouldn't be lying upstairs infected by his hand.
Rayna was going to shift into a creature she feared and it was his fault.
"She needs you, Garrett. We all do."
He looked up then, staring at Bryce for long moments. Rayna didn't need him. He'd caused her enough problems already and the pack would only suffer in the long run. They didn't need him, regardless of what they thought. He turned and left the room without a word. He saw Judith hurrying down the stairs. One look at her smiling face and he knew. Rayna was awake. As much as he wanted to see her, to make sure she was all right, he couldn't. She was better off without him. Because of him, she was now a creature even he loathed.
Chapter 16
Rayna stood on the ridge and stared out over the mountain. She'd spent every minute she could here, looking out at the vastness of the world and trying to find her place in it. Three weeks since Malcolm's death and she was finally healed. The fact the wound had healed so quickly told her all she needed to know. At some point, she was going to shift.
Judith told her it could take months for the wolf to grow strong enough to show herself but eventually, she would emerge. Her senses had improved, just as Judith said they would, and much to her surprise, she'd been pleased by it. She saw the world more clearly now and smelled mountain laurel from half a mile away. Her agility had improved and much to her amusement, she could transverse the forest almost as well as Bryce could.
She'd been infected and knew the wolf was coming but the one man she needed to help her through it all seemed to disappear as quickly as he came.
Garrett had avoided her like the plague since she woke up. She saw him everyday sneaking around the house but very rarely had she spoken to him. He'd dart away the minute she caught him watching her and she was frustrated as hell. After talking with Bryce she knew why. Garrett felt responsible. His guilt kept him away. After everything they'd been through, he was still hiding from her. Waiting in the dark, watching her.
She turned when she heard someone behind her and smiled at Judith as she topped the hill.
"Bryce said he was going to build you a bench to put up here," she said as she approached her. "Or we can just build you a cabin, if you prefer."
She grinned and looked back over the mountain. "It's quiet up here," she said. "It gives me time to think."
Judith stopped beside of her and sighed. "It is pretty here, isn't it?"
"Yes. You can see for miles in either direction."
"It's one of the reason's we settled here," Judith said. "Well, that and it's isolated. It serves its purpose, I suppose."
Rayna turned her head, looking over at her. "Judith, did you want Malcolm's plan to succeed?"
The woman blushed before staring down at her feet. "I didn't want you hurt, if that's what you're asking, but yes, it would be nice to get off this mountain eventually."
"Then why don't you?" she asked. "Garrett lived in the city for years and no one knew. Hell I spent six months with him, practically living with him or him me, and I never knew."
"Garrett is stronger than we are. He can control the wolf better than most."
"Then learn how to control it better."
Judith smiled and nodded. "I've been living here since Malcolm got us out of that facility, Rayna. I'm not sure I can function in the real world. I'm too scared to try." She glanced up at her before shrugging her shoulders. "I suppose if I really wanted to leave I could."
"You all could," Rayna said. "And you'd solve a lot of your problems, Garrett being one of them. He doesn't want to lead this pack. I think that's part of the reason he's been hiding."
"I know."
"Of course, he's hiding from me, too," Rayna said. "If I just knew where he was hiding I'd go drag him back by his cowardly tail."
Judith laughed and said, "He's at Jacob's cabin."
"I've checked there."
"Bryce said he's been holding up there and runs the minute he sees you coming."
"What!"
Judith nodded her head and grinned. "He's there now if you want to ambush him, but don't tell him I said so."
"Ambushing him is probably the only way I'm going to be able to talk to him."
"He'll come around."
"He hasn't so far."
Judith sighed and shook his head. "He's just being pig-headed. Wolves are like that, you know. He thinks he's doing what's best for you."
"No, he thinks he's responsible so his guilt keeps him away."
"That too," Judith grinned.
They were silent for long minutes, both lost in their own thoughts. Rayna wasn't sure what to do about anything anymore. She'd already called Clive and quit her job. Mitch had done the same. The entire office thought they'd eloped, according to Mitch, and she wouldn't put it past her friend to have let that piece of gossip slip out himself. He'd seemed genuinely happy since the Malcolm ordeal and whatever Carmen and Caleb did to him was finally being accepted now that they were gone. Of course, no one knew where Carmen was so the fear she would show up was still there. Jacob was still missing as well. All any of them could do now was wait. It was the waiting that was the hard part and not having Garrett there made it harder. She was scared and couldn't tell a damn soul. Scared of the changes in her body, scared of the upcoming shift, scared she'd lost Garrett. "What am I supposed to do," she asked, more to herself than to Judith.
"What do you want to do?"
She laughed and shook her head. "Beat the shit out of him for leaving me again when he promised me he wouldn't."
"I would pay to see that." Judith said, turning her head toward her.
"I just don't get it," she said, sighing. "Before we were caught he told me the wolf wanted to claim me. How could he say that then leave me? Are wolves that fickle?"
Judith laughed. "Oh no. If he said the wolf wanted you I can assure you him staying away is more painful for him than it is for you."
"Then why?"
"Because he's a man and we all know they think they're doing the right thing when they aren't."
"What am I supposed to do then? Wait him out?"
"Well, you can always force him to choose." Judith grinned at her and tilted his head to one side. "Exactly how bad do you want him?" she asked. "Because I know of a way to get his attention and I can promise you, he won't be the one running away."
* * * *
Rayna didn't even pause as she reached the door of the cabin. She shoved it open without knocking, listening to it hit the wall as she looked around the room. She saw a stunned expression cross Garrett's face, his eyes widening as she marched across the room to the sofa where he sat before she planted one knee between his legs and grabbed his head with both hands, leaning down to kiss him. She forced her tongue into his mouth, taking what she wanted and didn't give him time to protest. She pressed her body against him, her fingers tightening in his hair until he tilted his head, deepening the kiss and moaned into her mouth. When he raised his hands and touch
ed her, she jerked away from him and started backing toward the door. "I need a mate," she said. "And I choose you, Garrett Kincaid. If that wolf of yours wants me, then have him catch me."
She turned and ran back out the door, jumping from the porch, and she'd barely made it into the trees when she heard him. She smiled at the sound of his feet hitting the wooden porch and wondered how far she'd actually get before he caught her. The crashing of trampled brush she heard behind her told her not very far.
The trek through the forest was nothing to her now and she pumped her arms at her side, raising her legs high as she jumped fallen limbs and small bushes. She weaved through the pines, darting in one direction before turning toward another. Garrett followed her with every turn, the sound of him behind her, chasing her, almost as exciting as what she knew was coming.
When she heard the rushing water of the creek, she knew he was just prolonging the chase. He could have caught her minutes after they entered the woods and she grinned knowing he was enjoying their game as much as she did. The moment she saw the creek, she turned and ran for it, running across the shallow rock bed to the other side. He followed, the splashing from the creek as he ran across growing closer as she ran up the bank and back onto solid ground.
He caught her before she got her feet under her good.
They crashed to the ground, the air leaving her body in a whoosh as he landed on top of her, his hips pressing into her butt. He was already hard. He ground himself against her as his arms circled her waist. She squirmed and clawed at the ground, trying to free herself and let out a startled yelp as his blunt teeth bit into the side of her neck. He pushed his hips against her backside and reached under her, sliding his hand between her legs and cupping her through her jeans, squeezing. Sparks of need zapped through her limbs and she squirmed against his hand.