The Wolves Next Door

by Catherine Vale

  She heard her phone ringing in the living room and it shook her from her thoughts. She moved quickly to pull off her gardening gloves, exiting her green house and headed back to the main section of her home.

  She felt slightly out of breath from trying to catch the call on its last ring.

  * * *

  Caine could tell Julie wasn’t her usual bubbly self and when he glanced Ryan’s way, he knew his best friend had noticed it too. They were having dinner at a secluded bistro, a small, pack-owned restaurant that was very much off the beaten path; the kind of place humans would overlook, but was well known by their pack members. They’d chosen the place because of its romantic décor and the fact that on this particular night there weren’t too many people around. They wanted no distractions tonight – and for many reasons.

  They could tell Julie was still wary, and wasn’t sure where she stood with them. They were about to put her straight tonight. And yet, both men sensed that there was something bothering her tonight. Her hands seemed to tremble as she reached for her glass or silverware, and she had a faraway look in her eyes in the middle of their conversation, like her mind was somewhere else. Caine sent Ryan another look, questioning this time, and Ryan gave an imperceptible nod.

  “Something bothering you, Julie?” Caine asked gently, his worried eyes resting on Julie’s troubled face. Her expression cleared and she smiled but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.

  “Oh, I’m fine. Everything’s absolutely perfect. The food, the wine – the music. I also love the candlelight…very nice touch.” She sent both of them warm smiles and on the surface it seemed as if she’d regained her composure but they weren’t fooled.

  “You trust us, don’t you, Julie?” Ryan asked, in much the same tone Caine had used. He rested his hand over hers and he felt her somewhat convulsive tremor at his touch and had to quell his eyes from changing to silver, the eye-color of his wolf. He wasn’t oblivious to her agitation and it made him grit his teeth thinking that anything or anyone could make her so fearful. His shifter senses were tuned in to her every emotion and his beast was clawing out to protect his – their – mate.

  “Of course I do,” she said, giving Ryan a quizzical look. “You two are my closest friends now.” She gave a smile that struggled to light up her face and almost – almost – dispelled the shadows in her eyes.

  “The truth is Julie…we were hoping to be far more than that,” Caine spoke up, and ignored Ryan’s warning look. Now or never, brother. She has to know. We can’t keep this up. You’re already close to shift-mode right now. We can’t risk her finding out the hard way, Ryan.

  “What Caine’s trying to say,” Ryan whispered, while rubbing his thumb tenderly over her slender knuckles, “Is that you’ve come to mean a lot to us. A lot more than you may realize. It’s been only a few weeks, but we’ve known from the very beginning exactly what our hearts long for – and that’s you, Julie.”

  Her lips worked silently for a few moments, her eyes darting from one man to the other.

  “I’m not sure exactly where you’re going with this,” she said slowly. She would have pulled her hand from his but Ryan’s grip tightened just that bit more.

  “I don’t blame you for being confused,” Ryan continued calmly. “Caine and I grew up together and it was pretty rough because we were both orphans fostered by abusive parents. We learned how to stick up for ourselves and each other. When we were old enough we ran from our foster home and found our way here, where we were lucky to finally find a true family. Here we were able to be with those of our kind who accepted us without question and made us feel right at home.”

  Her eyebrows arched. “What do you mean, your ‘kind’?”

  Ryan hesitated, and it was then Caine who said, “Julie, there’s no easy way to say this, but I’ll try. Ryan and I…we’re different. And it’s not just us; we’re a whole group with similar traits and a bond that links us together for life.”

  She stared at them both for several seconds and each one passed like a life sentence. What was she thinking? There was no way they could get into her head, not yet. They could only sense her emotions and just on the surface, at that. They knew she was more curious than worried, but they still waited for what she would say next.

  “You and your friends…I mean Vern, and Hawke and many of the other people I’ve been coming in contact with over the past few weeks,” she began slowly, “You’re all part of this…’group’?”

  Ah, their mate was intelligent, both men surmised. She must have seen similarities, qualities that only the very discerning could pick out. They smiled and nodded.

  “Yes, they are members of our pack,” Ryan told her, trying to make her see, to understand. “You see, we…”

  There was a buzzing sound in the air and it cut through Ryan’s words. Julie looked down at her phone, her face immediately turning stark white as the blood drained from it.

  Both men felt the surge of their shifter blood as their fierce protective instinct where their mate was concerned rose to the forefront.

  She suddenly jumped to her feet and they found themselves springing up as well, identical defensive stances that gave them a more aggressive look than they’d have wanted to display in her presence. She looked startled at how quickly they’d moved, and hastily told them she was fine, that she just needed to go to the rest room.

  They could tell she simply wanted privacy, perhaps to take the call that had her phone buzzing, the tone low yet highly perceptible to their more powerful wolf perception.

  “I’ll be right back,” she said, her forced smile not fooling them one bit, but there was nothing they could do. They couldn’t figure out what she was hiding, but they wished with all their heart that she would open to them. That’s why she needed to know what she truly meant to them and whatever trouble she was in, they’d help her through it – protect her like any mate should.

  “Why won’t she let us be there for her?” Caine asked aloud, sitting back with a frustrated sigh. He shoved his hand through his dark locks, looking in the direction Julie had gone.

  “She still thinks she’s alone; that she should handle her problems herself like she’s done for this long,” Ryan said thoughtfully. “Whatever’s got her worried, I bet it’s something to do with her past. That man who hurt her.”

  Caine sat up with interest. “Did she ever discuss it with you? About what must have happened?”

  Ryan shook his head. “All she let out was that she was over him. Maybe some guy she was with who hurt her in the process and now she’s trying to get the pieces back together.”

  “What if it’s him calling her? What if he wants her back?” Caine said suddenly. His blue eyes had gone dark and then seemed to glow a fierce gold, the color of his own wolf eyes. Ryan couldn’t help but mirror the fury running through Caine’s veins at the very notion he’d just suggested.

  “Fuck! No wonder she’s so jittery,” Ryan snarled. “We can’t let him get to her…can’t give him the chance to hurt her again, after she’s obviously fought to start her life again.”

  Caine glanced at his watch and scowled. “She’s taking too long back there. What should we do?”

  Ryan paused, his mind working fast. As the older one between them, Ryan was used to making the decisions when it came to vital matters and right now, he wanted nothing more than to go find Julie and make her realize just how much they wanted to protect her. Wanted to claim her totally. But he knew that it was harder for him to rein his wolf in. He hadn’t had that much practice since he was so used to letting go and losing it. Caine, however had always had much greater control.

  “You should go after her,” Ryan said firmly. “I’ll wait here for you two to get back.”

  Caine nodded assent, and rose to quickly move through the tables to the back of the restaurant. He stood outside the door of the ladies room and listened in with his super sensory hearing. Nothing. It took only a few moments for him to realize his mate wasn’t in there. He had the i
mmediate sense of danger and he knew in an instant that she’d left out the back exit.

  He moved so fast his surroundings became a blur. But he still made time enough to project to Ryan, Julie’s left the restaurant. Go out the front – I’ll check round the back if I can find her. Now, Ryan.

  Caine knew Ryan would need no second bidding and would move as quickly as possible. Caine was throwing open the back door of the restaurant, his eyes moving clearly through the dark night. Just down the street from the restaurant, he saw Julie standing beside the open door of an SUV and two men trying to pull her in. She wasn’t struggling but Caine could smell her fear and her reluctance to leave with them.

  Shit. It was happening. Ryan couldn’t stop it if he tried. Bones snapping, teeth baring and elongating, skin giving way to bristling coat. His wolf was huge, its golden brown color making him seem like a flash of light speeding through the night as he flew right for the men trying to steal his mate away. He’d tear them to pieces before he’d let that happen.

  The two figures trying to herd Julie into the black SUV turned sharply at the sound of that fierce snarl. Words like “what the fuck” spilled out of the one closer to Caine, while he could see the other one reach for his gun. Julie looked over her shoulder and saw the massive shape of the wolf bounding straight off the ground aiming for the throat of the man holding her elbow. Her eyes widened in shock at the sight of the impossibly large wolf, its teeth glinting dangerously in the dim light of the deserted back street. She’d have screamed if she wasn’t so out of it.

  The wolf got backhanded by the man who had to let her go. But the beast came right back at them, this time for the man trying to aim and shoot, but couldn’t get a clear target at the wolf that moved like lightning.

  Julie stumbled backwards, watching the two men fight off the wolf. Seconds later she heard the sound of cloth and flesh ripping and one of her captors yelled in pain, holding on to his mutilated arm. The gun fell from his fingers as he clutched at the savaged arm.

  “Julie!”

  The sound of Ryan’s voice pulled her out of her stupor. He was running up and she just stood there in shock while the wolf seemed to be ready to eat those two alive. She heard the injured one scream, “Let’s get the hell out of here!” Both men managed to jump into the car, barely evading the snapping jaws of the wolf. Cursing, they slammed the doors behind them as the driver sped off on a squeal of tires.

  Ryan rushed forward and caught Julie before she could crumble to the asphalt. He watched the golden-haired wolf race after the speeding car till it sharply turned the corner of the road. Only then did the beast slow down and then turn back in the direction of the restaurant. Ryan’s eyes shifted quickly to the woman clutched in his arms. His rage gave way to tender concern as he felt her fingers grab hold of his shirt.

  Her lips were forming words but no sound came out, and he held her tighter to him while lowering his ear to her mouth. “Save me,” she whispered, and went limp in his arms, her eyelids shutting.

  Cursing underneath his breath, he moved her closer to the safety of the shadows just outside the restaurant’s back door. Looking up, he saw that Caine had reached them and was already shifting into human form. Luckily the back of the restaurant was isolated, so as Caine straightened in his nude human form, he didn’t have to worry about being seen. He was more worried about their mate and he was quick to join Ryan’s side.

  “How is she?” Caine asked, voice still harsh with fury. There were bloodstains on his bare chest and jaw, none of the blood his.

  “She fainted,” Ryan said in clipped, worried tones as he brought his arm beneath her knees and back and swept her easily into his arms. “But otherwise, unhurt.”

  The back door opened and the owner of the restaurant burst out, followed by two of his workers, all three lycan shifters.

  “We heard a commotion,” Jake, the owner and chef, growled. “Do you guys need any help? What happened?” They looked ready for a fight, noticing the woman Ryan carried.

  Ryan quickly explained what had happened. “Some men tried to kidnap our mate. We were able to scare them off and Caine definitely injured one of them. You’ll find his gun somewhere on the road.”

  Nodding, one of the workers quickly went searching and came back with the firearm in mere seconds.

  “I’ve got friends at the sheriff’s – they’ll know how to check that for prints,” Jake said. “But you all need to come back inside and make sure she’s safe in case those fucks come back. And we’ll find some clothes for you, Caine.”

  “Thanks,” Caine said, his mind filled with thoughts of anger and retribution. Part of him hoped those guys would return so he could get a better chance at ripping out their throats. But like Ryan, he tried to stay calm, knowing they’d make better headway if they kept focused on the most important thing right now – taking their mate to safety.

  Chapter Eight

  Julie woke up with a start and immediately shot up from the pillows. She didn’t recognize her surroundings and that drove her instantly into panic. It was a homely looking bedroom, with an oak bed and massive pillows. Across was a window, which took up the whole wall, giving a view of mountains and woods. Julie felt her head begin to spin. How did she get to a house in the woods?

  She wasn’t going to find answers lying around in bed. Quickly she got out of bed. Looking down she saw she was dressed in a loose white tee shirt, several sizes too large. She plucked at the v-shaped neckline, looking beneath to confirm that indeed, she was naked except for her panties. Okay. Now she could really start to freak out.

  Padding to the door of the bedroom on her bare feet, she opened it slowly and carefully. Once it was ajar she looked down to find an empty corridor. Inching out of the bedroom she moved down the hall, her footsteps faltering when she heard voices.

  “Whoever they are, they came into our territory and tried to steal our mate right from underneath our noses,” growled Caine’s distinctive voice. “We’re not going to let that go.”

  “Definitely not. But until Julie opens up and tells us who those men were and why she was leaving with them, there isn’t much we can do. What kills me right now is that she couldn’t trust us to keep her safe. Why else would she have agreed to go with those men?” Ryan said bitterly.

  Julie felt shamed by the hurt in Ryan’s voice. She didn’t know they cared so much but what did they mean by ‘territory’ and ‘mate’? If they hadn’t mentioned her name directly she’d have thought they were talking about something else.

  Confused by the tone of their voices and the strange turn of phrase, she stumbled backwards and managed to somehow trip over her own feet. The conversation between the two men stopped abruptly and she heard Ryan call out her name clearly.

  Sighing, she gathered more nerve and moved out into the living room area and found both Caine and Ryan standing there looking her way. They made no move to close the gap between them as she stood some distance away.

  “You heard us talking?” Ryan asked more gently while Caine gazed at her with a look that made every inch of her start to tingle. It was a few moments before she could think of what to say.

  “I heard a bit,” she said, not knowing where to look. “Could you please tell me what’s going on? Why did you guys bring me here?”

  Caine stepped forward, his eyes deepened with worry. “Don’t you remember? We were at the restaurant and you went to the rest room. I was just in time to see you about to leave with the two men in a car. You fainted and we brought you here to keep you safe. Whoever those people were, we wanted you someplace they’d never track you. No one knows about this place but us.”

  He moved just close enough to reach out and touch her, but she backed into the wall. A pained look came over Caine’s face but he cloaked it quickly.

  “Julie, why can’t you be completely honest with us? What kind of trouble are you in?”

  “Why don’t we start with you two,” Julie said, her voice filled with suspicion. “You say you saw
me try to leave with two men, but you were nowhere close to where we were. It was Ryan who came out to rescue me when that monster wolf came out of nowhere and…”

  She shivered, wrapping her arms around her as she relived each moment, seeing that huge dark golden beast almost rip the men to shreds. She still didn’t understand it but she had a strange feeling the wolf had come out to protect her. But why?

  Caine paused at her accusatory tone. “I was close, but you didn’t see me,” he said enigmatically. I was busy getting help while Ryan rushed out to get you out of harm’s way.”

  Ryan stalked forward and his dark eyes looked stormy as he searched Julie’s face.

  “Why would you do that, Julie? Endanger yourself the way you did? You knew we were waiting back at the restaurant, yet you chose to leave with strange men without saying a word. Do you have any idea how much we care about you?”

  “I did it to protect you both!” she cried out, stung by Ryan’s fury. “If I didn’t go with them, they’d have…”

  She shook her head and spun around. She couldn’t face the righteous anger she could feel coming off them in waves. Taking a deep breath, she faced them again with reluctance. “Look, I’m sorry for getting you mixed up in my troubles. Just give me my clothes and I’ll leave. Thanks for all you’ve done for me so far but I can’t let you get any more involved. For your own safety, you need to let me go.”

  Ryan seemed to swallow his anger, his voice gentling with surprising speed as he gripped her by the shoulders. “Don’t you think we’re more than capable of protecting you, Julie? That’s all we ever wanted to do.”

  “And I told you once before, I can take care of myself,” Julie said, hating to do it but shrugging out of his hold. “Please. Just let me go. Forget you ever met me.”

  “That’s not an option,” Caine said suddenly, in the harshest tone she’d ever heard him use. “And if you think we’re going to let you walk out of our lives, you’ve got another thing coming. And anyone who ever tries to hurt you or take you away will have to go through us first.”