Her eyes were vibrant yellow, her wolf fully in the driver’s seat. Teeth bared, she growled, her fear and anger saturating the room. Blood smeared her chin, throat and chest and she held a small child in her arms. One of her hands cupped his head, dark, soft curls breaking through her spread fingers. All he could see of the kid’s face was the side of one chubby cheek.
Lifting his hands where she could see them, he stepped closer. ‘Tressa, you need to rein it in, pull it back. Now.’
Nothing. Not a damn thing.
‘It’s Gabe. I’ve come to take you home.’ She didn’t seem to hear him and her next snarl lifted the hair on the back of his neck. The kid whimpered, burrowing deeper into his mother. ‘I need to get you to safety.’
Another snarl.
If she wasn’t holding her son, she would have shifted by now, would have attacked. That’s how far gone she was. ‘Tress, it’s me. You need to snap the fuck out of it.’
She flinched at the shortened version of her name. Only he had called her that. Her father had hated it.
The yellow bled from her irises, changing back to deep amber, and her death grip on the kid loosened slightly.
‘Gabe?’
‘Yeah.’ He moved in closer and she didn’t back up, which he took as a good sign. ‘Hand me the kid and get dressed. Your brother-in-law’s out front and I need to get you two out of here before he comes looking.’
That did it. ‘He’s here?’
Gabe nodded. That glazed look vanished in an instant and she was in motion, the boy clinging to her as she gathered her belongings.
Walking over to the lump on the floor, he lifted the edge of the blanket with his boot. Jesus.
‘Give me the boy, Tressa. You can’t hold him while you’re getting dressed.’
She rubbed her sons back. ‘You go to Gabe now, Sawyer, so mama can get dressed. He’s a nice man. He’s mama’s friend.’
The kid shook his head, little body trembling.
She kissed him. ‘It’s okay, baby. Gabe’s a nice man. He’d never hurt us.’ She motioned him forward and he moved on auto-pilot, her words hitting their target dead-on, piercing his chest.
Did she really believe that?
He looked down at her frightened son and pulled his shit together. He’d looked after enough kids in the hybrid camps he’d grown up in to know when one had been through some kind of trauma. Seeing his mother take out the fat bastard bleeding all over the carpet had understandably freaked him out.
‘Hey, buddy.’ He glanced at Tressa. ‘What’s his name?’
Her lips trembled. ‘Sawyer.’
Gabe pulled his phone out of his pocket and tapped the ‘Angry Birds’ icon. Holding it out so Sawyer could see, he sent a bird flying. The little guy shoved his thumb in his mouth, but Gabe could see the corners of his lips tilt up. ‘Come here. You have a try.’
He lifted his skinny arms towards Gabe, and he took him from his mother. Sawyer held on, watching as Gabe continued to send birds flying across the screen, while Tressa ran around the room getting her gear together. Going to the side of the window, he eased back the curtain to where the Harlow pack prick was parked. The guy was getting out of his truck, his gaze trained up to the second story, towards the room he’d told him Tressa would be. Shit.
‘We need to go.’ Her frightened stare locked on his and he held out his hand. ‘He’s on the move. Let’s go.’
Tressa let him lead her back to the bathroom. She climbed out the window and he handed Sawyer through to her then jumped out. The sound of a door splintering came a moment later. And not from upstairs.
Busted.
‘Run!’ He reached for Sawyer and she handed him over without hesitation, putting her son’s safety in his hands without a second thought. The animal in him was ecstatic by the show of trust. It recognised Tressa, had missed her, clawed under his skin to be free, to take out any threat to what it considered his.
Holding Sawyer in one arm, Gabe pulled the keys for his SUV from his pocket and aimed the fob. The lights flashed. ‘Get in.’
Tressa had kept pace with him and didn’t wait to be told twice. She climbed in his car and Gabe handed Sawyer to her then ran around and jumped in the driver’s seat. Shoving the keys in the ignition, the engine roared to life.
‘Um…Gabe.’
‘Buckle up.’ He aimed his thumb over his shoulder to the booster seat he’d picked up for the kid.
‘Gabe?’
‘What?’
‘You need to drive.’ Tressa was staring out the window at the two massive wolves barrelling towards them.
Slamming the car into reverse, he backed up then gunned it out of the parking lot. The road was busy and he couldn’t gather enough speed to put serious distance between them and the wolves following. Tressa pulled the seatbelt around her and her son and hung on to the door handle with a white-knuckled grip.
Every now and then, they caught a glimpse of one of the Harlow pack running alongside the car, following in the shadows.
‘Fuck this.’
Wrenching the wheel to the right Gabe shot down the nearest side street. It would take them to a busier part of town—more people, less places to hide—making it harder to follow in their wolf forms.
Tressa twisted in her seat, looking back. ‘You think we lost them?’
‘Don’t know. They’ll have to go back to their truck. But I won’t be happy till we’re on the open road and I can put some real distance between us and them.’
As he slowed down, Tressa reached around and half-crawled into the back so she could put Sawyer in the child seat. He could hear her murmuring to him, soothing him. He glanced in the rear-view mirror and the kid had popped his thumb in his mouth, eyes heavy.
Tressa climbed back into her own seat, but reached out to touch her sons foot, never breaking contact, making sure he knew she was there. The kid was asleep a few minutes later. Amazing. Most kids would be howling their little heads off after that.
‘Tough kid,’ he said into the silence.
‘He’s got good instincts. He feels safe.’ Her voice was soft, husky and twisted something low in his gut.
‘Here.’ He reached over and opened the glove compartment, pulling out a rag. ‘There’s a bottle of water by your feet.’
‘Right. Thanks.’ She dampened the rag and scrubbed at the blood on her chin and throat. ‘Is it gone?’
He glanced over at her, clenched fists in her lap. That long, straight, almost-black hair, pulled back off her face, allowing him a good look at her. That deep golden brown skin, those dark as night eyes.
Still as exotic—and just as fucking untouchable as the last time he’d seen her. ‘Yeah, it’s gone.’
He tore his gaze back to the road as memories came flooding back, memories better left buried. Her last words to him echoed through his head, and he fought to keep his emotions in check. The beast paced restlessly, confused. It wanted her to pet them both and couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t. With her sitting there beside him, her scent drowning his senses, he was forced to wrestle with his dwindling control.
He’d fucking conquered this, thought he’d worked her out of his system. He gritted his teeth when the beast pushed harder. He’d loved the female at his side, had craved her with everything he had and she’d turned her back on him. Fucked him over in the worst way.
What the hell was wrong with him?
It was almost as if time had stood still. The feelings of betrayal, of gut-wrenching agony was that damn strong. Her cutting words continued to echo through his mind, so fresh, he reached up to rub away the pain in his chest.
The heat of her stare bore into the side of his face and he snarled before he could stop it.
‘What?’
He sounded as pissed as he suddenly felt, which was pathetic. He didn’t know her now—shit, he hadn’t known her then—she may as well be a stranger.
‘Thank you for coming. I know after our…after the way we…’
‘I’m
doing this as a favour. I agreed to come before I knew it was you.’ He was being an asshole, but right then his pride needed her to know he hadn’t come running for her. He would never do that, never again, but it didn’t help. Anger continued to simmer below the surface.
‘You should’ve said no and let someone else come for us.’ Her voice was tight; body stiff.
He could see her discomfort, could feel it. But it wasn’t enough, not when he was almost drowning in feelings he’d believed dead and buried.
‘Why would I do that?’
‘Seeing me has obviously upset you.’ She was looking at him again and he hardened his jaw so she wouldn’t see the tornado swirling inside. ‘You’re angry at me.’
‘I’m angry that I had to drive halfway across the country to do a job that should be your pack’s responsibility. I’m angry that some asshole is no doubt chasing us down as we speak. Anger towards you personally would require me to have some kind of deeper feelings. I have none, not where you’re concerned, unless you count pity.’
The silence that followed was charged. Then he felt it, goddammit, felt the wave of pain that flowed off her.
‘Right. You’re right.’ She undid her seatbelt. ‘I’m just going to climb in the back with Sawyer, make sure he knows I’m here when he wakes.’
Fuck. Pull it the hell together.
He was behaving like a prized prick when she’d already been through enough. She didn’t need him adding to it.
They didn’t speak after that. A short time later he heard her breathing slow and even out. She must have felt at ease enough to sleep, to let her guard down like that, especially after the way he’d treated her. Shit, she trusted him. That realisation affected him more than he wanted to even admit to himself.
Idiot. She’s exhausted. And why the hell was he even thinking like this?
But then a memory came out of nowhere, hammering in the back of his mind, the first time he’d seen Tressa. He’d finished work at the local mill, his Guardian training still several months off, and he’d looked rough as hell. He’d gone into town to grab food and a six-pack, and Tressa had been standing by the fridges. She’d been wearing frayed cut-off jeans, and a Led Zeppelin t-shirt, her feet bare, bright pink polish on her toes.
He’d nearly swallowed his tongue. She’d drawn him in without even looking his way, sucked him into her orbit and he’d been helpless, unable to fight the pull.
Gabe walked towards the girl, gaze moving over her from head to toe. Her jean shorts hugged her perfect little ass and, dammit, his cock stood up and took notice. He stopped behind her, drawing in her scent.
Unmated. Wolf.
Not a trace of anything else.
Just his shitty luck, the hybrid population around here was pitiful. He’d have to start going out of town if he wanted to get laid anytime soon. He took a step back, about to make a hasty retreat. The last thing he needed was to piss off some cranky alpha for daring to speak to one of theirs.
The female turned suddenly, and he realised how close he was when her tits brushed the top of his abs.
‘Oh! Sorry. I didn’t see you there.’ Dark eyes wide, she stared up at him.
His tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth.
She swallowed hard and he watched the way her throat worked, the way her little pink tongue peeked out and swiped across her bottom lip.
She frowned. ‘You alright?’
Speak, you dick. Say something!
She bit her lip then shook her head. ‘Okay, well, whatever.’
She tried to sidestep him, since he had her backed up against the fridges.
‘I’m gonna need you to move.’
His arm shot up as if controlled by an invisible string and he blocked her way. Those dark eyes got a whole lot wider.
‘What are you doing?’
Say something. Shit, anything! ‘I—I’ve never seen you around here before. Do you come here often?’
No! Had he really just said that?
Suddenly, she didn’t look so worried anymore. She lifted her hand, covering her mouth, but she couldn’t hide her smile.
Heat hit his face and he groaned inwardly.
She dropped her hand then, not bothering to hide the way her full lips tilted up in a wicked smile. ‘Has that line ever worked for you?’
He winced, rubbing the back of his neck. ‘Ah…can’t say I’ve ever used it before.’
She chuckled and held out her hand. ‘Tressa.’
He discreetly rubbed his sweaty palm on his jeans then wrapped his fingers around hers. ‘Gabe.’
‘Nice to meet you.’ She got up on her tiptoes and he froze as she lifted her hand to his hair, combing her fingers through the strands, brushing over it gently, that fucking sexy smile still on her exotic face. Sawdust fell to the floor around his feet.
‘You work at the mill?’
‘Yeah.’ That’s it? That’s all you can come up with?
‘Right, well…maybe I’ll see you around?’ She slid her hands in her pockets and edged away, eyes still on him as she backed up, the smile slipping from those fucking sexy lips the further she got from him.
Was he going to just stand there and let her walk away? Fuck.
‘Number?’ He blurted out.
The smile she’d given him when he’d asked for her number had near done him in. She’d grabbed a pen from the front counter then taken his hand in her smaller one, so soft as they wrapped around his work roughened fingers. Sparks of awareness had lit him up like petrol on a bonfire. She’d written her number on his palm then walked her denim-clad ass out the door.
He’d called her that night.
The next night he’d kissed her for the first time.
Stop.
He shoved it all from his mind. This was not the time for a trip down memory-fucking-lane.
The Harlow pack would be coming for her and it was his job to get her home safe. The past made no damn difference to the here and now. He shoved the memories back where they belonged and focused on what he had to do.
The males hunting them would know where he planned to take her and would be monitoring the most direct route, plus they’d seen his car.
Time for a detour.
Chapter 3
‘Ow! Shit.’ Tressa woke when her head cracked against the window. She glanced over at Sawyer. He was still out, his little chest rising and falling slow and easy, thumb in his mouth, cheeks flushed from sleep. Something dark was draped over him and she reached out to touch it. Denim. The scent coming off it was one she had never forgotten, even though she’d tried.
Her heart squeezed as she rubbed her nose against her son’s soft curls. How could she forget that scent when her son’s was so similar? Where Gabe’s was earthy, like the forest at night with an underlying note of leather, Sawyer’s was sweeter, with a hint of wild berry. It would become deeper as he got older, take on more earthy tones. It would become a scent all his own.
‘You’re awake.’ Gabe glanced at her in the rear-view mirror.
She ran her fingers through her hair. She must look like hell. ‘Looks that way.’
‘I guess you haven’t had much sleep the last few nights?’
‘Nope.’ She’d been too scared to close her eyes.
‘What happened back there, in that motel room?’ he said suddenly.
She shivered. His voice was deceptively casual, but she heard the danger beneath. Checking Sawyer was still asleep, she climbed through to the front seat and buckled up.
‘You know what happened.’
Aggression flowed from him, had been battering against her senses since she climbed in this car.
‘I killed that man.’
‘Don’t give me that shit. Start talking, Tressa, now.’
She barely recognised him. Sure, Gabe had always been rough around the edges, untamed. That’s what initially drew her to him. He’d always carried around this volatile kind of anger but he’d ever directed it at her, not once. Right now it felt like he
wanted to wring her neck.
‘He thought a good exchange for fixing the thermostat on the air conditioning unit would be for me to strip naked and suck his dick. I disagreed.’
She could still taste his blood in her mouth. Her stomach lurched.
‘I thought he might hurt Sawyer and I…I snapped.’
His fingers tightened around the steering wheel, turning his knuckles white.
‘You did the right thing.’
The words were pure gravel, laced with all that barely-controlled rage.
‘Any DNA they find will be wolf since you were in your shifted form and there are several wild packs in that area. Yeah, it’s unusual for them to come into built-up areas like that, but the cops will assume it was injured and hungry. The blanket covering him will remain a mystery, explained away. Not everyone likes to deal with the cops. It’ll be fine.’
She hadn’t even thought about the police, of what could happen to her or Sawyer. Jesus, she’d lost it, she’d risked losing the most important person in her world. She rubbed her hands over her face.
‘What if I left something behind, what if they…?’
He gripped her thigh hard. ‘How did you get to that motel?’
‘I stole a car from Dan’s brother then dumped it when I got to the nearest bus station.’
‘Dan?’
‘My…Dan was my mate.’ Even saying it now felt wrong.
His shoulders stiffened, but other than that he didn’t comment. And why would he? ‘So the car belonged to Mr Personality back there? The wolf driving the black SUV?’
‘No, that was Lance. He’s the youngest of the three brothers.’
It had been a crazy risk. Colt was one terrifying male, but his car had been right outside her place with the keys in the ignition. If it hadn’t been for the wad of cash stashed in the glove compartment, she and Sawyer would have been forced to sleep rough. She hadn’t had time to go to the bank after she ran and was afraid Lance would somehow track her that way.
A Wolf’s Deception (Novella) Page 2