He’d always been an aggressive lover, but never like he’d been with Chelsea. His hunger for her made his past experiences with women seem like child’s play. Her soft skin probably bore the marks of his fingers from where he’d gripped her hips and thighs in a hard, possessive hold, but she’d never complained. She’d simply given as good as she got, his own body bearing the marks of her nails, and he loved it. Would wear them with pride, the marks healing too quickly for his liking.
Just have her make new ones.
He smiled, his wolf and him for once on the same page. It was a hell of a plan. But first, as much as he hated to cause her pain, he knew he had to come clean with her.
As if she sensed his disquiet, she stirred beside him, a sleepy smile curving her kiss-swollen lips as she stretched and cuddled closer. “Hey, you.”
“I didn’t mean to wake you.”
She reached down, curling her soft hand around the rigid length of his cock. Her eyes sparkled. “I think maybe you did.”
“Chelse,” he murmured, bracing himself on an elbow, “there’s something we need to talk about.”
“What’s wrong?” she asked, obviously sensing from his tone that she wasn’t going to like what he had to say. She pulled her hand away and sat up, clutching the sheet to her chest as she stared down at him.
“Nothing’s wrong.” He climbed out of the bed and turned on the light, then grabbed his jeans and pulled them on. Lifting his hand, he rubbed the back of his neck as he turned to face her. “I just...there’s something I need to tell you about Perry. It isn’t going to be easy for you to hear. The only reason I didn’t tell you earlier is because I—”
“What is it? Is she hurt?” she asked, cutting him off.
“No, she’s fine.” He blew out a frustrated breath. “Hell, I know I’m screwing this up, I just don’t know how to—”
“Eric, just say it.”
“The girl that helped Sophia make it up to Miller’s Ridge—the one who called Jeremy on Sophia’s phone—it was Perry.”
“You saw her?”
He gave a brief nod. “I also talked to her.”
Her eyes went wide with disbelief. “And you just left her there?”
“Not by choice,” he grunted, not liking the way she was looking at him. “Damn it, I tried to get her to come with us, Chelsea. She refused.”
“That doesn’t make any sense, Eric. If you’re telling the truth, she must not have been in her right mind. They’d probably drugged her!”
He braced his hands on his hips. “She didn’t smell drugged. I would have known, Chelse. She said she couldn’t leave because Jason is in some kind of trouble that has to do with her. She’s afraid that if she runs out on him, he’ll lose his ranking in the pack.”
“His ranking?” she choked out, shaking with fury. “You expect me to believe that she’s worried about his stupid ranking? That’s impossible. She wouldn’t risk her life because of his goddamn social status. She’s childish and selfish, but she wouldn’t be that stupid! She wouldn’t act just like our mother!”
“I know this is hard to hear, Chelse.” His voice was deep and low. “But I’m telling you the truth.”
“No...I can’t—I refuse to believe this.” Her long hair streamed over her shoulders as she shook her head, her pale skin flushed with anger. “You probably just didn’t want to have to deal with her.”
Eric narrowed his eyes. “That’s bullshit and you know it.”
“And what about Cian?” she snapped. “Why didn’t he say anything to me about Perry being there?”
“Because I asked him not to,” he ground out, knowing this particular truth was going to piss her off even more. But he refused to lie to her. “I wanted the chance to tell you myself. When it was the right time.”
“Well, you should have done it before!” she shouted. “Because now I don’t believe anything you have to say. All you’ve done is prove that you’re just another selfish, controlling bastard who isn’t worthy of—”
There was a screech, followed by his guttural curse, and then she was panting, saying, “Let me go, Eric. Now.”
He blinked, surprised to find her trapped beneath him on the bed, her wrists bound in the hard grip of his hands. He released her as he reared back, bracing himself on his knees, terrified by the thought of what could have happened. His throat was tight, a burning lump stuck in the middle that made it hard to talk. “I was afraid you were going to react like this,” he panted, his voice little more than a croak. “I was hoping that after what happened between us, that you might...hell, I don’t know. Have a little faith in me.”
“That was your plan?” she snapped, using the sheet to cover her body as she rose up on her knees in front of him, both of them kneeling in the middle of the bed. “Were you hoping that I’d be more inclined to believe your lies about Perry after you’d screwed me?”
He ground his jaw so hard that it hurt. “You know that’s not true. I tried to get her to leave with me, Chelsea. But she was determined to stay.”
She snorted, still not believing a word he’d said. “Like I told you before, she might be selfish, but she isn’t stupid. She isn’t a doormat. If you’d really offered her the chance to get away from that place, she would have taken it.”
Keeping his gaze locked on hers, he took a deep breath and said, “I’m not saying I agree with her, but did it ever occur to you that she might actually be in love with this guy? That as upset as it makes you, you should support her decision to stay with him?”
Her breathing got a little harder, her mouth trembling. “You really are a manipulative son of a bitch, aren’t you? I can’t believe I let you get close to me.”
“You didn’t let me, Chelsea.” His eyes narrowed with a visceral jolt of anger. “You begged me.”
The next thing he knew, his head was snapping to the side, the imprint of her hand burning in his skin. He took a deep, rattling breath, and knew the wolf was burning in his eyes when he brought his gaze back to hers. Its fury seared through him, scorching his veins, his muscles bulging as he stared her down.
She paled, her scent spiking with the heartbreaking threads of fear. She actually thought he was going to hurt her. Thought he was going to be just like all the other bastards who had treated their women like shit. Battered and abused and psychologically tormented them.
Yeah, he was pissed. Furious. Hurting at her lack of trust. He’d known the truth was going to be hard for her to take, but he hadn’t expected this. Hadn’t expected her to throw it all back on him.
There was really only one thing left to do.
Moving off the bed, Eric reached into his jeans pocket and pulled out the set of keys that Wyatt had slipped him earlier at dinner. Then he padded on his bare feet across the room, set the keys on the dresser and turned toward the door. “The keys are yours,” he said, keeping his back to her. “They belong to the gray Rav4 that’s parked beside the cabin.”
“Wh-what?”
“I had Wyatt pick it up for you this afternoon, while we were in Shadow Peak.”
“I don’t understand,” she breathed out. “Are you...are you saying that you bought me a car?”
A humorless laugh rumbled in his chest. “What can I say? It was all a part of my master plan to turn you into a doormat,” he drawled sarcastically. “It might have failed, but you still get to keep the bait.”
Softly, she said, “I can’t accept it, Eric.”
He gave another gritty laugh. “Yeah, I figured you’d say that. Just use it to get back to Virginia, and I’ll send someone down to collect it.”
Then he opened the door and got the hell out of there, since there wasn’t any point in staying. He had nothing left to say.
Chapter Fourteen
The first thing Chelsea realized as she walked onto th
e front porch of Eric’s cabin the following afternoon was that she’d never seen so many bitter, determined expressions. It seemed that almost everyone was there to see her off—the sooner the better seeming to be the collective opinion. The only person she didn’t see was Eric.
Either someone had been watching the cabin for signs that she was awake, or they’d been waiting a long time. After Eric had stormed out on her, it’d taken her hours to fall back into a restless sleep. One that had left her drained and exhausted. She didn’t have nearly enough energy to deal with the coming argument. Unfortunately, it was pretty clear that no one in the Alley gave a damn. A line had been drawn, and they were all on Eric’s side.
“Give the word when you’re ready to leave,” Jillian said in a tight voice, her arms crossed over her chest. Her normally pleasant features were pinched with anger and disappointment as she stood near the bottom of the porch steps. “Cian’s agreed to let you follow him down to Wesley.”
It wasn’t easy for Chelsea to stand her ground in the face of such hostility from a woman she’d considered her friend, but she somehow found the strength. “That’s not necessary, because I’m not leaving.”
“You don’t get that choice,” Carla called out, sitting on the steps of her cabin, a steaming cup of coffee in her hand. “Go stay with some friends, since it probably isn’t safe for you to go home. But there’s no point in you staying here any longer.”
“No point?” she choked out. “My sister is still out there with those monsters. I can’t just leave.”
“It was her choice to stay with Donovan,” Jeremy drawled, walking over to stand beside his wife.
She didn’t know how they knew about her and Eric’s conversation—if he’d told them, or if they’d been shouting so loudly that they’d simply been overheard—but it was obvious where their loyalties lay. She would have found their united front odd for a group of humans, but aside from Torrance and Michaela, these were men and women who had Lycan blood running through their veins. In their eyes, she’d wronged someone in their own little private pack there in the Alley, which meant she was no longer welcome or accepted.
“You all believe him, then?” she asked, scanning the group. But there wasn’t a single understanding face among them.
“Damn right we believe him,” Jillian answered. “And you should have believed him, too. However Eric says it happened, then that’s how it happened.”
Digging her nails into her palms, Chelsea looked at Cian, who was leaning against the back of his Land Rover, and he smirked. “Want my opinion, lass? You’re making a big mistake. I might not have heard the conversation Drake had with your sister last night, but she sure as hell didn’t look like she was in any rush to come back with us.”
“No. That can’t be right,” she argued, shaking her head. The idea of her sister making such a ridiculous choice was simply impossible for her to accept, going against everything that she believed in. “Either you’re lying for him, or there was some kind of misunderstanding.”
Standing at her husband’s side, Torrance spoke up for the first time, sounding just as disappointed as Jillian. “I hate to say it, Chelsea, but it seems the only misunderstanding was the one we had about you.”
She flinched, trying to think of how to respond...to make them understand, when Jillian said, “Do you have any idea what he was willing to do for you? Eric could have left your ass in that club on Saturday night, but he didn’t. He went and killed for you, put himself on the line for you, and this is how you repay him? By accusing him of leaving your sister behind because he didn’t want to be bothered with her?” The Spirit Walker’s voice shook with emotion. “Are you out of your bloody mind?”
Jeremy put his hand on his wife’s shoulder. “Easy, Jilly.”
She bristled as she turned her gaze up to her husband’s concerned face. “No! I’m not going to take it easy on her. Why should I? She hasn’t taken it easy on Eric. She’s done nothing but use him!”
Before Chelsea could defend herself, everyone turned toward the road leading into the Alley. Seconds later, a red Jeep came into view, screeching to a halt in the center of the glade.
“Oh, hell,” Michaela groaned, cutting a worried look toward Brody, who had his arm around her waist. “This is all we needed.”
“Who is it?” Chelsea asked, stepping up to the porch railing. She was privately thankful for the diversion, but judging from the group’s reaction, she had a feeling she wouldn’t feel that way for long.
“It’s Todd Dawson, Sophia’s brother,” Jeremy explained. “He’s a total jackass, which means this is bound to get ugly.”
Her stomach churned as a tall, dark-haired Lycan climbed out of the Jeep, his face a hard, aggressive mask of rage. “Where the hell’s my sister?” he shouted, scanning the group with a belligerent gaze. “I just found out that she’s here and I want her out of this stinking Alley. Now!”
“Calm down, Todd. I’m right here.”
Everyone turned their heads to see Sophia standing on the Burnses’ porch, a heavy blanket wrapped around her, while Eric stood protectively at her side, his hand on her shoulder. Chelsea didn’t know how long the two of them had been standing there, but considering what his friends had been saying to her, and about her, she hoped it hadn’t been long.
“Get your filthy hands off of her!” Todd roared, stalking toward the cabin. “I don’t want scum like you anywhere near her! You’re worse than the half-breeds!”
“Stop it!” Sophia cried, looking pale and outraged as she marched down the porch steps to confront her brother. “Eric’s been nothing but kind to me, Todd. Don’t you dare say anything mean about him.”
“I just want to get you out of here,” he muttered. He put her behind him as he started backing away from the cabin, acting as if she needed shielding from the man still standing on the porch. Eric hadn’t moved, hadn’t said a word. He just stood there with his hands in his pockets, looking as though he couldn’t have cared less what Todd Dawson thought about him. But Chelsea had a feeling his indifferent attitude was just a front.
Todd got his sister in the Jeep, then walked around to the driver’s side. He opened his door, but before he climbed in, he turned his angry gaze on Chelsea. “You really think you’re safe here, human? With a guy like Drake? He’ll probably rip your throat out the second you’re alone with him.”
“Shut your filthy mouth,” Jillian snarled, starting to lurch forward, until Jeremy yanked her back against his chest. She was like an enraged tigress ready to protect her cub, and for the first time since meeting the beautiful blonde, Chelsea began to understand just how strong Jillian’s connection to her people really was. And Eric was her friend, which only strengthened that connection.
Todd turned his hate-filled eyes on Jillian and sneered. “I’m just saying what a lot of us are thinking. It isn’t right, his kind hooking up with a human. We can’t take another disaster at this point.”
“You need to mind your own damn business,” Mason growled, the sharp bite in his voice sending Todd scurrying into his Jeep, his tires churning up clumps of grass as he sped away.
Though it was a beautiful day, the sun casting golden rays over the verdant glade, Chelsea shivered, feeling chilled to the bone. The Lycan’s attitude toward the Runners had been appalling—but it was the things he’d said about Eric that bothered her the most. He’d had such seething hatred and distrust for Eric, simply because of his bloodline...because of the things that his father had done. She knew, from talking to Jillian and Carla, how much good Eric had done for the pack, but the Lycans in Shadow Peak didn’t care. They continued to cast blame and to pass judgment, throwing accusations around like verbal grenades, without any basis or proof.
Just like you’ve done, whispered a voice in her head.
She shuddered, not wanting to listen, but knew it was true. She’d lashed out at Er
ic because she hadn’t wanted to face the possibility that Perry was acting like their mother, putting a man’s interests above her own. Hadn’t wanted to accept that Perry cared so little about her own sister, she couldn’t even pick up a phone and call to let her know that she was okay. Not even when she must have known that Chelsea was now as caught up in the nightmare as she was.
You really think those are the only reasons? Come on, Chelsea. Man up.
She didn’t want to admit it—wanted to ignore that irritating voice—but it was right. There was more to the issue. A deeper fear that had nothing to do with Perry and her worry that beneath her sister’s reckless acts of independence, she’d really just become a replica of their subjugated mother. No, this reason had to do with her...and Eric...and what had happened between them in his bed.
Like a blind woman who was suddenly blessed with sight, the hours of mind-blowing, breathtaking pleasure they’d shared had made her realize just how hollow and pale her life had been before she met him. In so many ways, he’d awakened her. Had opened her eyes...but to things she wasn’t quite ready to face, her armor splintering before she was ready to abandon its shelter. The searing sexual intimacy between them had been so much more than what Chelsea had bargained for—so much hotter and sweeter and more intensely emotional—and when given a way to get out before she was too far gone to care, she’d taken it. In an act of pure, blind panic, she’d used the situation with Perry to drive a wedge between them, without even realizing that’s what she was doing.
She’d chosen retreat rather than to take a chance on finding something that was real and strong and beautiful. Something that could...last.
Cutting her gaze across the grass-covered glade, she spotted Eric talking to Mason, who had joined him on the Burnses’ porch. Eric looked gorgeous, but tired, and she knew that she’d hurt him. That was why Jillian was so angry with her, and she didn’t blame the healer. Even though she clung to the hope that he was somehow wrong about Perry, Chelsea knew that she owed him an apology for reacting the way that she had. He’d been taking so many unfair knocks from his pack lately, and all she’d done was add to the bullshit.
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