Wait for my signal.
As soon as Luke’s tail disappeared around the edge of the house, I leapt from the tree branch. My feet thudded as they landed on the wooden shingles, and I scrambled for a moment before gaining a foothold on the steep slope. I hoped like hell the sound hadn’t alerted my stepbrothers that I was there. Luckily, the wind was blowing away from the cabin, so they’d be unlikely to have caught my scent.
As silently and carefully as I could, I shuffled forward, over the ridge of the roof, and right to the edge of the hole. I crouched down just back from the edge, so the moon wouldn’t throw my shadow on the floor below. Luke poked his head out from the end of the porch, and nodded at me. I nodded back. Go for it.
Luke started to howl.
Instantly, something squabbled awake beneath me. I could hear paws scraping against a wooden floor. I strained my mind to catch their thoughts, and my stepbrothers’ messages fell into my own mind.
—Caleb, I can smell him. Can you see through the window? How many does he have out there?
There’s only one wolf. It’s Caleb’s cousin, the other Lowe wolf. He must’ve followed us.
You told me they were at the cabin all night.
They were. I swear, Angus. They must’ve woken up after I left. I’m sorry, I figured they’d sleep for hours after all the—
Alright, I don’t have to hear about it again. If the other wolf is here, it means Caleb probably isn’t far away, which means my new mate isn’t far, either. Caleb wouldn’t leave her alone. You definitely can’t smell any other wolves?
What do we do? Robbie sounded concerned.
There are two of them and two of us. It’s hardly a successful ambush technique. You go out there and see what he wants. I’ll hang back here, and I’ll come out if you get into trouble.
But, Angus—
Stop arguing with me and get out that fucking door.
I watched as a white-grey wolf slunk across the floor beneath the hole. He was in the perfect position for me to get him, but I didn't want Robbie.
I was after Angus.
Robbie stood on his hind legs and opened the door with his paw. His whole body was trembling. He was terrified.
Sorry, Robbie, but this is what you get when you hang with Angus.
I raised my paw, and Luke rushed forward. Robbie had barely pushed the door open a crack when Luke pounced. Robbie didn’t stand a chance. Luke pinned him against the rotting porch, and hissed in his ear, Stay silent, or I tear out your throat right now.
Robbie whimpered, but he didn’t say a word.
Well, where are they? Angus demanded from the depths of the cabin. I can smell Caleb’s rank stench from here. They must be right on top of us.
I grinned despite myself.
Answer me, you git. We don’t have time to fuck around. Robbie? Angus’ nails made a clicking noise as he padded across the wooden floor. Click click. Click, click. Any moment now and—
Angus’ enormous, black head popped into view over the edge of the hole.
I pounced.
I flew through the air and landed hard on his back. Angus turned his head in surprise, but I’d already sunk my teeth into his neck, right on top of the wound I’d given him just two days earlier. Metallic blood filled my mouth as I sank my teeth deeper. The wound wouldn’t kill him, but it would prevent him from tearing himself away from me without taking a huge chunk out of his neck.
Angus roared, rearing up onto his hind legs, and slamming back down again. I pitched forward, nearly losing my grip. But I dug my claws into his sides and held on tight. Angus tried to throw me again, but I managed to stay on, my teeth gnawing deeper into his flesh. Sweat poured down his back, mingling with the blood trickling from the wound, making his fur slick and hard to grip.
I’ll kill you, bastard. His anger roared inside my head.
You wouldn’t dare, I growled back, my own words thick with rage. I’m the whole reason you’re here, remember? I’m the one you have to bring back in one piece. It's gonna be pretty hard to do that if I tear your throat out.
We’re family. You wouldn’t dare.
Oh yeah? I bit down harder, spraying Angus’ blood all over the rotting wooden floor. Try me. You threatened my fated mate. You tried to take her from me. That’s no way to treat family, Angus. No way at all.
She’s too good for you, he growled.
And you’re a better option? You think she was just going to submit to being the mate of her kidnapper? You really are delusional.
She’s not even your mate yet. You haven’t claimed her.
That’s no excuse, and you know it. You’re going back to Aberdeen with your tail between your legs, and when you get there you can tell Douglas exactly what it was you tried to do in order to get me to come with you.
Fine, Angus growled. We go back, and when the Bairds find out you’re not with us, they’ll kill our mother.
That stopped me short. I hated the fact that she was caught up in this.
So stop them. MacLeans don’t solve their problems by giving into the demands of their enemies. Douglas is weak if he—
Father is not weak. Angus’ eyes were practically on fire.
Whatever. I don’t care. I’m not going back with you. You won’t change my mind. My jaw was starting to hurt from gripping a mouthful of his fur.
Then hurry up and kill me, bastard. Listening to you talk is tiring.
I’m not going to kill you, Angus. I loosened my grip on his neck, only slightly, but enough for a river of blood to flow again. You’re in my territory now, and I do things differently. You and Robbie will go back to Aberdeen, tell Douglas what I’ve just told you, and then you’ll all put your ten brain cells together and find another way.
Outside, I could hear crashing and cursing as Luke and Robbie fought. I dropped Angus’ neck, planted my foot on his shoulder blades to keep him down, and shoved his head against the rotting floor.
Angus yelped. But Mother—
She’s not my concern anymore. I have my own pack now. You worry about your family, and if you so much as look at Rosa again, I won’t be so lenient.
Angus howled as I stepped across his head. I kicked him in the mouth as I trotted outside. Luke held Robbie against the porch, his claws buried in Robbie’s fur and his teeth bared right in his face.
Luke! I called out. His head snapped up, and I saw that blood caked his teeth and chin. Robbie’s face looked pale, and his tongue was panting furiously against his teeth. You can drop him now. They’re leaving.
Luke growled one last time, snapping his jaws in front of Robbie’s face. Robbie whimpered, and collapsed in a heap on the sagging porch. Luke jumped off him, and came to stand beside me.
Angus limped out of the cabin, his eyes blazing, his neck and the side of his face caked in his own blood. He looked stricken as he rushed to Robbie, and started to lick the slash marks Luke had made across his cheek.
Why are you still here? Angus glowered at me. You’ve done enough.
Right, like I’d trust you to just leave. We’re going to escort you to the border of Crookshollow Forest, make sure you’re safely out of Lowe territory. If you cross back over into my domain, I’m well within my rights as the alpha in this area to kill you on sight.
Angus glared at me, but he didn’t say anything.
Good. We have an understanding. Let’s go.
Angus nudged Robbie in the side. Robbie hunched over and whimpered. Angus licked at another wound, cleaning away the blood from his fur.
You hurt him, he growled.
Stop wasting time, I growled. Angus nudged Robbie again, and he clambered to his feet, his legs shaking. The two of them limped toward the trees. I fell in step behind them, the metallic taste of Angus’ blood still coating my mouth. I marched them into the trees, heading north, toward the forest edge and the nearest boundary of our territory. Luke circled around to walk out to the side, preventing them escaping into the trees. None of us said a word.
The su
n was rising over the horizon when we finally reached the northern edge of the forest. In the new morning light, Angus and Robbie looked even worse for wear than I’d realised. A flap of Angus’ skin hang down from his neck where I’d torn it away, and one of Robbie’s legs had swollen up to nearly twice its size. Deep gashes ran across his cheek. When those healed into scars, they’d make him look like a pretty mean critter.
I felt a flicker of sympathy for them, but it quickly faded when I remembered what they’d done to Rosa.
I raised my leg to a nearby tree, adding a fresh mark to the edge of my territory. I splashed a bit on Angus’ foot. He backed away, growling, but Luke was right there behind him, pushing him back toward me.
I marched along the tree-line, ensuring the boundary was clearly indicated. If you cross this line again, you will be directly violating my specific order. As far as I’m concerned, our familial relationship won’t guarantee your safety. And you can tell the same to any other member of the Maclean or Baird packs that want to come down here and harass any members of my pack.
You don’t have a pack, Angus growled. I’ve never seen another wolf in these parts. If we came back with reinforcements, you wouldn’t be able to do a thing.
Despite myself, fear flickered in my stomach. I’d made up the bit about being the alpha and having a pack. News of the return of the Lowe wolves had started to spread, and for all Angus knew, there could be more of us. But there wasn’t, and if they did came back with more wolves, we wouldn’t have a hope in hell.
Is that so? Luke growled.
I knew Luke was just playing along to help dissuade Angus. If we had an alpha, by rights it should be him. When I met his eyes, I was surprised to see a fire burning there. He looked as though he really believed in the Lowe pack.
Maybe … I thought of Clara and her sons back in Crookshollow, helping me to protect Rosa. I thought of Luke and his wife Anna, and their coming cub. I thought of Rosa, and how badly I wanted her to be my mate.
I turned to my stepbrother, and all their faces swirled around me. They’d all done so much for me, and for Rosa … For the first time in my life, I had people around me who were willing to stand up to this bully. I had friends who would stand beside me to protect my family. Pride beat against my chest. If that wasn’t a pack, I don’t know what is.
Angus and Robbie were already limping away through the trees. I yelled at their backs. You think you can stand against the Lowe pack and all our might? I wouldn’t be so sure if I was you.
9
Rosa
I woke up in a bed of rose-covered sheets, to the smell of something amazing wafting under my nose.
“Rise and shine, dear,” a kindly voice said. “Your wolf-men will be back any moment.”
As my eyes adjusted to the bright sunlight streaming in the window behind her, it took me a moment to recognise the kindly black-haired woman who’d taken me in last night. As soon as she’d got me inside, Clara had made me a cup of herbal tea and ushered me up to bed. I’d expected not to sleep a wink, worried about Caleb out there in the forest, but as soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out.
It must’ve been some tea.
Now, Clara was standing in front of me holding a tray bursting with dishes. I rubbed my eyes and stared at the feast she’d laid out for me. A gourmet bacon butty on seedy wholemeal bread, covered in what looked like some thick homemade chutney. A lemon tart, the top glistening with a beautiful chocolate lattice, and a long doughnut dusted with icing sugar and bursting with fresh cream and jam. A fresh pot of tea and a beautiful rose cup and saucer waited on the edge. She’d even put a sprig of herbs into a tiny vase.
“Is that for me?” I gushed. “Thank you. I’ll definitely stay in this hotel again.”
Clara set the tray down over my knees, fussing with the curtains on the window. “The first thing you need to know about living in Crookshollow is that Bewitching Bites bakery is the only place you need go if you’re ever in need of a sweet treat.”
“I’ll remember that.” I picked up the cream doughnut and took a huge bite. Cream and jam spurted out the sides of my mouth, and I wiped them away with an embroidered napkin Clara handed to me.
“You slept well?” she asked.
I nodded, my mouth full of cream.
“Good. I see my tea did some good, then.”
“Your … tea?” I set the doughnut down, feeling suddenly suspicious.
“Yes, dear. The tea I gave you last night was a powerful sleep draught. I ground the herbs myself.”
“You … drugged me.”
“Heavens, no!” Clara patted my shoulder. “I just made sure you didn’t spend all night worrying about your wolf. I was worried about you. We all were.” She leaned close, her eyes glinting. “That Caleb is a very nice young man, and rather handsome too, wouldn’t you say?”
I swallowed another mouthful, grinning at her despite myself. “He’s available, you know. If you’re in the market.”
She chuckled, pausing on her way out the door. “Oh, I don’t think he’s available at all. When you’re up and dressed, come down and meet my sons.”
I finished off the bacon butty, cream doughnut and half the lemon tart, drowned the tea, and hunted around for my clothes. Clara had folded up my jeans, shirt, and jacket at the end of the bed. I lifted them to my nose. They smelled of lemon and grapefruit. How had she washed and dried them so fast?
I remembered that Caleb had said she was a witch. But that’s ridiculous. Witches don’t exist. That’s just new age nonsense.
But then, I’d always assumed werewolves didn’t exist, and I’d been proved very, very wrong. And she did make me that tea, that definitely put me straight to sleep. Maybe Clara did have some magical powers. If she’d used them to ensure I had clean laundry, that was the kind of witchcraft I could get behind.
My phone on the nightstand beeped. Smiling to myself, I picked it up and clicked on the message icon, expecting something from Caleb. My smile froze when I read the anonymous message.
Don’t think you can hide, you black bitch. I’m watching you right now.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up. The phone clattered to the floor. I surveyed the room. Was someone hiding in here? Someone … or some wolf?
My gaze fell on the window. I could see it was tightly latched, and it looked out over Clara’s sloped roof, down onto her tiny back garden below, and the towering forest beyond that. There was no one out there, and no evidence anyone – or any wolf – had been there.
My phone beeped again. With shaking hands I read the next message.
You can’t hide from me. You’ll get what’s coming to you.
My skin crawled. I felt eyes boring into me, watching my every move. But that was impossible. Who was watching me?
Sucking in a breath, I silently lowered my head over the edge of the bed, and yanked up the cover. I let out my breath when I saw there was nothing underneath except a couple of mothballs and a squeaky mouse cat toy.
I slid out of bed and threw open the narrow closet. No, no one there, either.
It’s just those wolves trying to scare you. But Caleb said he was taking care of them … did he not succeed? Is he out there, injured somewhere? Are the wolves planning to attack me the minute I leave Clara’s cottage?
My stomach twisted with fear. I studied the tree line. Something flickered in the corner of my eye. Was that something moving between the trees? It could’ve been a bird, or the wind …
A cold shiver ran down my spine. My hands shook. I hate this. I hate feeling so exposed all the time.
My hands started to shake, and the panicked feeling rose through my chest, consuming all of me. My head swam. My ears rang. No, please, no. Don’t have a panic attack here.
My head pounded, and a wave of nausea swept over me. I sat on the floor, wrapping my arms around myself, focusing on steadying my breathing, until the sickening feeling faded.
This is silly. You’re just overreacting. There’s no one here
. It’s just Caleb’s brothers, trying to scare you. Caleb will be here soon, and everything will be okay.
I got up slowly, my head still spinning, and pulled on my fresh clothing. That done, I padded downstairs, following the sound of masculine voices. I had to twist and flatten myself against the walls to avoid knocking over any of Clara’s precariously perched knickknacks with my ass. Every spare inch of space was crowded with candles, crystals, statuettes, photo frames, jars of herbs and other unknown substances, and all manner of strange objects.
Even following the voices, it took me two wrong turns before I located the kitchen. The room was exactly how one would expect a witch’s kitchen to look – shelves lined with mason jars filled with dried herbs. More sprigs of herbs and strings of garlic hanging from racks over the bench. Every surface crammed with lopsided, colourful ceramic bowls and plates and cups, and a large black cauldron sat on a dedicated shelf above the aga stove. I loved it instantly. It reminded me a little of the tiny kitchen and small wood-burner in my old cottage.
No. Don’t think of that now. I was already fragile enough.
Clara stood behind the stove, stirring a pot of beans. Eggs and sausages sizzled in a pan beside her, and a tray of freshly-baked shortbread sat cooling on the windowsill. I half expected to see little birds darting around the kitchen, stirring the pots and popping toast in the toaster.
Two men sat at the table, each with muscles bulging from the sleeves of their tight t-shirts. The one nearest to me flicked a lock of pitch-black hair from his eyes, and smiled up at me. He had flecks of coloured paint all over his clothes and forearms. The other one – a blond with dark stubble across his chin – was frantically tearing into a huge stack of bacon sandwiches.
Clara beamed as she turned from the stove. “These are my sons. Ryan.” She placed a hand on the black-haired man’s shoulder. “And Marcus.” The blond nodded at me, his mouth full of bacon.
Writing the Wolf: A wolf shifter paranormal romance (Wolves of Crookshollow Book 2) Page 10