by Reese Morgan
Although he could have been miles ahead of her, Cole kept pace with Hayden. More than once, he offered to carry her, but he eventually stopped asking when Hayden simply turned a stubborn cheek.
Fortunately, the longer they traveled, the easier it became. As they trudged up a steep, snowy incline, Hayden gained a sudden burst of adrenaline and climbed up effortlessly. Her limbs were no longer heavy, but strong and robust. Her senses were no longer clouded, but honed and sensitive. The early onset of frostbite she’d felt on her toes and fingers suddenly warmed. She knew her wolf was making a comeback, deeming it safe enough to come out.
“You’re eyes are back to amber.” Cole appeared at her shoulder. “Judging from your exuberant climb up the hill, I’m assuming you feel better.”
Hayden smiled thinly and nodded in response. As she stood at the top of the hill, she inhaled and closed her eyes in pleasure. As human, she had never felt incomplete. But now that she was a werewolf, she couldn’t imagine living for a prolonged time without her other half, without her wolf half.
“We should make camp for the night. We both need to eat and sleep.”
Her eyes abruptly opened. “I thought we would try to make it without stopping.”
Cole, who was currently scouting the area, turned to look at her suspiciously. “It could be another ten hours from here, probably more. You may be feeling better, but you are still recovering.” He smiled wolfishly. “Are you afraid to spend the night alone with me, Hayden?”
“No,” she said quickly, too quickly. “Am I hunting with you?”
He granted her a reprieve from their earlier topic and continued his scouting. “You have natural predatory instincts, but there are still things you must know about hunting. I will teach you how to hunt properly, but not tonight. You gather wood for a fire.”
“We’re starting a fire?” she asked stupidly. “But what about attracting attention?”
“Frankly, I welcome the opportunity of someone being stupid enough to try to catch me off guard. I haven’t slept or eaten in over twenty four hours.” His eyes riveted towards her. “You should be more concerned for whoever comes up here.”
He was either arrogant or truly confident in his own abilities. Hayden figured it was the latter. While she had only seen glimpses of Cole at his best, she knew he was a legendary fighter among the werewolf community. As others would say, he was a Slayter. He probably learned to fight at a young age from his father and older brother.
Hayden watched him retreat from their designated resting area, his movements silent and undetectable. For being such a broad-shouldered and muscular man, he moved ridiculously stealthy.
She scoffed and began her task of gathering wood.
After collecting a sizeable amount of branches and timber, Cole came back with a few rabbits. He taught her how to make a fire and how to skin and prepare the rabbit. Hayden watched closely, determined to learn how to survive in the wilderness, especially after Cole’s jab about her being a city dweller.
Cole informed her that they could eat raw meat. However, even if they could safely consume raw animals, in wolf form and human form, it didn’t necessarily agree with them all the time. Ultimately, it was preferable to cook their game.
“Where did you learn all this?” Hayden asked him after they finished their makeshift dinner. “While Albertville isn’t technically a city, it isn’t in the wilderness either.”
The black-haired Alpha sat down next to her after adding more wood to the fire. “My father used to take us hunting and camping at least twice a month.”
“The whole pack?”
Cole’s lips twitched before they settled into a formidable line. “No. Just Nicolas and myself. Addie and my mother convinced Xavier he needed to spend time with his children. Looking back on it now, I think they were just trying to avoid going themselves.”
Hayden stared at the fire, tense at the mention of Nicolas. She knew Cole didn’t like talking about his brother. She couldn’t blame him. Nicolas had killed their mother, and by default, their father. Recollecting the ‘good times’ was probably painful for Cole.
“Were you close with Nicolas?” she ventured hesitantly, ready for a rebuff.
“Hayden,” Cole called lowly, sensing her unease. “You can ask me anything you’d like. You don’t need to feel as if you’re imposing.” He waited until she nodded before answering. “Nicolas and I were close, yes, although our age difference kept us from being inseparable. By the time I was born, Nicolas was already an adult. He was another set of parental eyes more than a friendly companion.”
“I always thought you two were close in age.” It seemed like that anyway, but maybe that was Hayden’s human mentality getting in the way again. Physical age certainly wasn’t the same as actual age in the werewolf community.
“My mother had trouble conceiving children. Nicolas was well over thirty before I was born.” He tore his eyes from the fire and scrutinized Hayden’s pensive expression. “I know that face. What are you thinking?”
She shifted on the packed snow and leaned into the fire’s heat. In order to avoid Cole’s eyes, she focused on extending her hands toward the flames. “It just seems odd, that’s all. He was thirty-years-old by the time you were born. He killed your mother out of petty revenge for Xavier choosing you as his beta. But why wasn’t Nicolas Xavier’s beta before you were born? He was old enough.”
“Another man, William, was my father’s beta during that time. He was incredibly loyal to Xavier and to the pack. When I was born, Will decided he wanted to branch out and become his own Alpha.” Cole inclined his head. “In order to give both Nicolas and I a fair shot, Xavier decided to wait until I was older to declare his beta.”
“Do you ever think…” Hayden trailed off with a scowl. She had to spit it out, least Cole get impatient. “Do you ever think Xavier’s decision to wait so long was intentional? Like you did with Nathan. Even though he isn’t particularly skilled in combat, you saw something in him that would make him an accomplished Alpha. You didn’t stop him when he decided to leave and become Alpha to Falco’s pack.”
“You think my father refused to name Nicolas his beta in order to drive him out of the pack and become his own Alpha?” Cole’s powerful shoulders gave a jerk, a sort of indifferent shrug. “No matter what Xavier’s reasons were, it doesn’t change the fact that Nicolas killed our mother.”
There was an edge to his tone, a signal that he didn’t want to continue the conversation. Hayden was surprised it hadn’t appeared earlier. Any other werewolf would cease their questioning, but Hayden was too stubborn to heed that warning.
Turning her hands around, Hayden opened her palms in a gesture of submission. “I understand that,” she consoled softly. “But something doesn’t add up. You know him better than I do, but he doesn’t seem like a man who would kill over something as juvenile as not being named beta. He seemed to have understood Xavier’s reasons for not naming him his second-in-command.”
“His motives aside, he still killed our mother.”
There was no mistaking the growl this time and Cole’s anger tunneled through their link, flushing Hayden with the intensity. It was like a warm breeze, somehow more concrete than the heat from the fire.
She reared her head stubbornly and glowered at his side profile. “Joseph and Devan had a gun loaded with silver bullets when they kidnapped me. Nicolas took it and had it in his possession the whole time while he was fighting with you. If he truly wanted to kill you, he could have shot you—”
“Nicolas is a sadist!” Cole snarled. “He enjoys playing cat and mouse.”
Hayden turned away from him and squinted into the fire. Her jaw clenched at his own stubbornness. For a moment, Hayden wondered how they could ever coexist in a healthy relationship. They were both stubborn, both unrelenting. Whenever their opinions clashed, there would be a battle of wills.
When an unnatural silence and stillness came from the body next to her, Hayden looked his way. Her pulse t
hudded unevenly when she noticed he was watching her. With the hard angles of his face highlighted by fire, and the rest of his face cast in total darkness, he resembled a motionless beast, patiently waiting in anticipation of lunging at his unaware prey.
Despite the odd lighting across his face, his eyes possessed an unnatural gleam, making them appear far brighter than ordinary. “Why are you so determined to see Nicolas in a good light?”
Noticing he was reaching for her neck, Nicolas’ mating mark in particular, Hayden lifted her lip and growled lowly. “It’s not like that!” She knocked his hand off course and sent it flying in the opposite direction.
At the physical challenge, Cole’s eyes brightened further and he reached for her throat again. Hayden’s hackles rose at the man’s audacity. As she moved to intercept his hand again, he met her reflexes with his own and clasped her wrist, stopping her from swiping his arm away a second time.
Before she had a chance to swipe at him with her left hand, he clasped that too. She found herself locked into another power play with a male, a scenario that reminded her of the rogue encounter yesterday. Despite the similarities in situations, Cole made the struggle unthreatening and only frustrating.
She struggled against his hold, first trying to tug her wrists from his fingers and then switching tactics and trying to get close enough to his face in order to use her claws. He only continued to hold her wrists in place, his force unrelenting.
The males she fought against were strong, but somehow, Cole was in an entirely different league when it came to raw strength. He didn’t even move an inch despite her best efforts to stir him.
When a roguish smirk lifted Cole’s lips, Hayden hissed in anger and increased her efforts to claw at him. Before she could consider something as self-harming as a head-butt, Cole leaned his forehead against Hayden’s and began using his body weight to press her back into the ground.
Not knowing when it had happened, Hayden realized Cole’s anger had turned into playful arousal. His scent of frost and earth, along with the sharp tang of masculinity, was intoxicating, having increased in potency after a day in the wilderness. It smothered her, covered her, and claimed her, seemingly masking any sort of self-identity she may have possessed.
With their eyes challenging the other, Cole abruptly crashed his lips against hers, every bit possessive. Their teeth clashed in the bruising kiss and Hayden closed her eyes, intrigued despite her better judgment. Her wrists were pinned above her head, still held captive by Cole, who had straddled her for a better angle to her mouth.
The weight above her was almost crushing, but somehow, it only fueled her excitement. She tugged once at her wrists. When they remained firmly in Cole’s hands, Hayden channeled her frustration through the kiss, pressing against his mouth dominantly. His lips quirked against hers, obviously amused at her predicament.
When they broke apart, Cole insistently continued to press his lips down her jawline and down her neck. He found her jugular vein and nipped at it playfully before licking it.
Hayden’s hazy mind suddenly sharpened when she comprehended the reason for his tunneled focus on her throat. “No,” she found herself arguing insistently. “You don’t want that.”
Cole paused in his ministrations, his hands still shackling her wrists and his mouth still poised over the column of her throat. Slowly, he pulled away and released her wrists, looking down at her grimly.
“Are you sure it’s not you who doesn’t want it?”
She stared up at him, startled at his dark tone. She wanted to say that he wasn’t being fair, that she had wanted to progress their relationship when he had wanted nothing to do with it. More importantly, she wanted to ask why he had changed his mind about their relationship.
But she found herself unable to speak. She was afraid of this new change, though not so much afraid as she was uncertain. With how things used to be, Hayden had been in charge. She was able to control how much distance she kept from him. She had grown accustomed to his hesitance when it came to initiating physical contact.
With him suddenly becoming the aggressor in the relationship, Hayden felt powerless, she felt as if she had no control.
Cole’s mouth thinned at her silence, taking it as answer to his inquiry. “You should sleep.” He rocked back onto his heels before standing fluidly. “I’m going to scout the area one last time.”
Without further communication, he moved quietly into the trees. Hayden scrambled up from her prone position and stared after him. She wanted to call after him, but she was too stubborn to ask him to come back.
It wasn’t her fault. The blame was on Cole and his unclear motives. How could he be upset with her hesitation when he made it perfectly clear not too long ago that he didn’t want to further their relationship?
She stood up and retreated a distance away from the fire, preferring to cloak herself in shadows. Trying to situate herself into a comfortable position, Hayden attempted to sleep, but found her mind too preoccupied to rest.
Not only was she wondering if she should take the initiative and talk to Cole about their relationship, but she was also plagued by visions of Rachel and the rogues who’d attacked them. As much as she understood the importance of defending herself, she still felt uncomfortable with the killing.
And Rachel…
Hayden pressed her eyes closed, trying to erase the images. But no matter what she tried, they stayed with her.
On the verge of sleep, Hayden was vaguely aware of Cole returning. It must have been quite some time since he left, for the fire at her back didn’t seem as strong as it did earlier. She kept her breathing steady and her eyes closed, listening as he approached her. He seemingly paused near her, as if debating whether to stay or find his own place to sleep.
Unexpectedly, he positioned himself behind her and wrapped a secure arm around her stomach, flattening her back against his chest. His rough cheek nuzzled her gently, as if in apology, before firmly tucking her head underneath his chin.
Somehow, the unrelenting visions were easier to quell with Cole at her back.
12. Chapter Twelve
Despite the endless white hills and the trees stretching as far as the eye could see, Cole seemed to have an accurate sense of direction. Hayden ran after him, staring at his broad-shouldered back as he led her further north.
Words were scarce between them, neither of them having enough courage to broach the subject of last night, or any subject for that matter.
After they shared a quick and silent breakfast, Cole began their trek north. Fully recovered from the silver poisoning, Hayden was able to maintain the quick pace he set. They’d run for what seemed like hours before stopping for a late lunch, and before she’d fully recuperated, Cole insisted they continue.
“We’re coming upon a small town. It shouldn’t be long until we reach the cabin.”
Her thighs burned and her body was weary. “How much longer?” She kept her tone neutral, not wanting Cole to detect her fatigue.
“Sometime tonight.”
Scowling at the vague answer, Hayden adjusted her coat and brushed her fingers across her throwing knives. The cold metal was only a slight reassurance. She’d been able to retrieve nine knives out of the original ten. The blond-haired rogue had possession of the other knife, the very same blade that had ended Rachel’s life.
If she was faced with the opportunity to retrieve it, Hayden wondered if she would even want it back.
Up ahead, Cole slowed. Hayden watched him suspiciously, wondering if he had something to say or if he had somehow detected her exhaustion. If it was the latter, Hayden would be damned if he slowed their pace just because of her.
“Hayden.”
She stopped abruptly, keeping a fair distance between herself and Cole. Her palms grew clammy at the prospect of Cole addressing the issue that she was too cowardly to address herself. Though tentative, a part of her was also eager to clear the air. It would be nice to interact with Cole without barriers again.
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br /> He looked at her from over his shoulder. When he noticed just how far she stood from him, an irritated tick tightened his jawline. He motioned her forward. “Come. Closer.”
Schooling her features into an impassive façade, she approached him, a confident step to her gait. Regardless of her bravado, she couldn’t stop the timid flutter of her pulse when he immediately wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He tugged her closer, his forearm constricting around her neck.
“Do you smell that?”
Hayden’s eyes widened. Of all the things she imagined he would say, asking her if she smelt something was certainly the last thing on her list. Nonetheless, she obliged after noticing the utter seriousness on his face. Sniffing the air, she bypassed the obvious scent of Cole and the wilderness. Underneath nature’s sweet fragrances, she pinpointed the tantalizing smell of blood.
For being so far away, it was extremely potent. “What do you think…”
“Human blood,” Cole informed stiffly, testing the air again. “In large quantities.”
Icy apprehension slid down her spine. Even underneath the shelter of his arm, she felt exposed. “Are we going that way?” she asked. “Is that the town you mentioned?”
Cole didn’t answer. His silence was infectious and Hayden intently listened to her surroundings. Judging from Cole’s poised posture and focused gaze, he sensed something Hayden could not.
Only when she noticed the unnatural silence of the forest did she finally realize they were being watched. From the corner of her eye, she saw a figure lunge from the trees. Although he was moving quickly, Hayden noticed the man’s chest was unobstructed, allowing for a perfect, lethal throw.
She grabbed the hilt of one of her knives and prepared to throw the blade into his heart. Unfortunately, Cole was quicker. The Alpha’s hands shot out and curled around Hayden’s shoulders, forcibly manipulating her body away from the charging rogue. Her world spun before she found herself disposed on her back. With rising indignation, she noticed her knife was no longer in her hand, but positioned in Cole’s fist.