by Renee Carr
24
Libby
I screamed, scrunching into a ball as a wolf I didn’t recognize, one that showed up with Christian, slammed into the wall and sunk down to the floor. It was injured, but it didn’t stay down for long. I had no idea who this third wolf was, but I figured it was whoever Christian had been meeting at night. It had gray specks of fur intertwined with the rest, sparkling from the light that came in around the windows. Whining slightly, it lifted itself from the floor and stretched its shoulders back out. Turning to the side, I saw the gash and watched in amazement as it began to heal quicker than anything I had seen before. It was deep, though, and I wasn’t sure how long it would take to fully close. The wolves were such interesting beasts.
My eyes drifted up from the wound to the wolf’s face and found it staring at me. The first time I had looked at Christian in his wolf form, I had been fearful. With this wolf, there was something calming in its eyes. There was something about him, something that was familiar, and comforting, and incredibly confusing.
Ever since I met Christian, I had seen something in his eyes too. It was before they even had flashed to golden. He had stolen my heart even before I knew it. But this look, it wasn’t longing or lust, it was protection and… and, well, I couldn’t figure out what it was. When he turned away, I watched him run back toward the fight. I was beginning to think that there was something in every wolf’s eyes. Maybe it was some sort of protective instinct. Or maybe it was something that helped them when they were trying to save someone they didn’t understand. It had a calming effect to it, one that my captor hadn’t had when I met him. He never looked at me and made me feel calm, not even for a second.
The wolf who had taken me had anger in his eyes. He was bitter and violent, and I just knew it went beyond the shock of being changed into a wolf. It was something that was rooted in his soul. It ran through his veins. Just thinking about it gave me a chill. In the center of the room, I watched as Christian and the other wolf battled my captor. They swiped at it, pushed and shoved, and rammed each other back and forth across the shack. They were so huge, I feared that the shack would fall down before I could get out to safety.
Christian leaped through the air as my captor stared over at me, growling and snarling. He tried to take a step toward me, but before he could, both wolves were on him. Christian landed on his back, shoving him to the ground, while the other wolf grabbed him by the neck, sinking his teeth in. The dark wolf wailed loudly, its ebony hair dripping with blood. It took a few steps forward, wavered back and forth, and then collapsed. As its body hit the ground, it shifted and contorted, turning back into his human form.
I looked away, closing my eyes at the sight. He was dead, and his human flesh hadn’t taken the beating as well as his wolf had. That image would probably never leave my mind. Turning back, I heard a small whimper and looked up at Christian quickly to make sure he was okay. He was standing strong, covered in the other wolf’s blood, staring over at the one that had come with him. The pepper-haired wolf teetered back and forth and then lay gently down, shifting smoothly into his human. Christian changed as well, running over to the man’s side and bending down next to him. He reached over and grabbed an old blanket off of what looked like a bed pad that my captor had made. He laid it over the man and I stared for a moment, finding myself absolutely speechless.
Slowly, I stood up, taking careful steps toward them. Christian looked up at me curiously but I was staring at the man on the floor. There was something familiar… his hair, or maybe the small wrinkles that pulled at the corners of his eyes. I couldn’t see the rest of his face, but as I stepped closer, he carefully lifted his head and looked deep into my eyes.
My arms dropped and I gasped, running over and dropping onto my knees next to him. “Dad! Is it really you? Are you okay? What do we need to do?”
I reached out and touched his arm, helping him as he pulled himself into a seated position. He wrapped the blanket around his waist and looked up at me, his face no longer snarling and angry, but thoughtful and relieved. He reached up and put his hand to my cheek and I leaned into it, closing my eyes. Tears cascaded down my face as I felt the same hand I had felt as a child comfort me.
“Oh, Libby, I never thought I would see you again,” he murmured in that deep and thoughtful voice that I could still remember from my childhood. “The day I disappeared, I never wanted to leave you and your mother. I was scratched by a dark wolf, but his magic could not penetrate my blood. I stayed true to our ancestral DNA but I feared that if I came back, I would accidentally hurt one of you or turn you by accident. The blood that runs in me runs in you. I couldn’t put you guys in danger. So, I stayed away, watching from a distance, catching sight of you from time to time sitting on the back porch of your mother’s house.”
At that point I was sobbing. “I knew that was you. All that time in the back of my mind, I knew it. But how do you know Christian?”
My father looked up at Christian and smiled, reaching up with his other hand and smacking him lovingly on the cheek. “One night, I finally found the dark shifters who had changed me. We got into a battle and while I killed several of them, I ran off before they could take me down. I went back to the cave that I’ve been living in and the next morning Christian found me. I was so beaten up that all I could do was focus on staying as my wolf until I had healed. But he came at me with surprise and I could smell the wolf in his blood. I was in so much pain and so confused that I didn’t know if he was a dark shifter or not. I didn’t mean to change him. I bit him, and because he already had the DNA, it activated his wolf shifter.”
I glanced over at Christian, looking at his surprised face. I giggled slightly, finally able to surprise him for once. Turning back to my father, I shook my head. “Mother always told me that I needed to move on, that I couldn’t wait for you to come back. But I know somewhere deep down inside of her, she’s always been waiting for you. She still goes out in the garden and picks flowers, she makes your favorite dinners, and she keeps to herself. It’s been hard on her. She was in an accident.”
My father nodded. “I know. We need to get you back home to safety. And I know this guy right here has been crazy worried out of his mind. We can catch up on all of this when we get back to your… I mean, our house.”
I smiled, gripping his hand tightly. “So, you’ll come back?”
He chuckled, carefully lifting himself up to his feet as I followed. “I always told myself that I wouldn’t, that I would never put you in danger. But now that you’re here, and I can see you and talk to you for the first time in years, there’s no way that I can’t go back and be with you and your mother. I love the two of you far too much. It has killed me all these years to stay away.”
Christian’s hand touched my arm and slid down, taking mine tightly. My father grinned and turned away, walking to the other side where my captor’s body lay. I looked up at Christian with love in my eyes and relief in my chest. I shifted my face to a stern look and slapped him on the arm. He winced and his mouth fell open wide. “What was that for?”
“You scared me half to death,” I replied. “If you had just told me you were meeting with a wolf every night, I wouldn’t have come looking for you. I thought for sure that one of us was going to die tonight.”
He pushed a lock of hair out of my face and wiped a smudge of dirt from my cheek. “I didn’t know about me, but I told myself when I left the cave that I would protect you to my dying breath. Thanks to your father, who, by the way, I’m just finding out is your father, it didn’t have to come to that. I’m glad it didn’t have to come to that.”
My eyes met his again. “I am too.”
He stepped forward, holding both of my hands. “I love you more than words can say, Libby. I never thought that I would meet someone that matched perfectly with me. Someone that I couldn’t be without. Someone that would complement my life more than what I could imagine. But then you walked into my hospital room, ready to do whatever you had to do
to get me better. And it wasn’t the fact that you were my princess in shining armor, there was just something about you that made me never want to leave your side.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but he cut me off, continuing. “That being said, your father had the right idea. And while your father is at a place where he can be with you now because he can control himself, I’m not sure that I’m there yet. All of this has shown me that this lifestyle can be very dangerous for you. I never, never want to put you in this position ever again. I don’t want you to be in danger for even a second. If that means that I have to stay away…”
I put my hands up to his lips and shook my head. “That’s not happening. I’ve been through the loss of a father, having to take care of my mother, this amazing man that I met changing into an animal in my living room, and then being kidnapped by some crazy guy and watching two wolves tear him apart. On top of that, one of the wolves was my long-lost father. I’m pretty sure you changing into a wolf and being a little snippy from time to time isn’t anything I can’t handle. I won’t let you push me away. I won’t let the shifters, the bad ones, take anything else from my life. They’ve taken enough already.”
Glancing over at my father, I nodded, and he gave me a wink just like he used to when I was a little girl. I smiled and then looked back at Christian. “You got all that?”
I could hear my father chuckle in the background. “She hasn’t changed a bit.”
Christian laughed and put his hands to my cheeks, leaning down and kissing me gently. “I got you. Loud and clear. And by the way, I love you very much.”
I grinned, wrapping my arms around his waist. “I love you too.” I lowered my voice to just above a whisper so my father could still hear. “Though I have to admit, it’s a little bit awkward standing here with you while you’re butt naked in front of my father. Have a little decency.”
All three of us laughed loudly, and I couldn’t believe that with the blink of an eye and the bite of a wolf, I had everything I wanted and more.
Epilogue - Christian
It had been six whole months since the dark wolf had kidnapped Libby and she had found out that her father was still alive. Looking back, I should have known—all the signs were there. But since I didn’t know Libby’s father, and I hadn’t been mourning him like she had for so long, I guess I hadn’t connected the dots. But with the love that I’d seen between them over the last six months, I kicked myself all the time for not realizing it sooner. I told Libby that, but she reminded me that it didn’t matter, that in the end they all ended up being able to be together.
After that fateful day, I stayed a couple more weeks and then I began going back and forth from Galena to Apple River to take care of both my business and Libby. I didn’t want to be away from her, she was far too important to me, but at the same time, I couldn’t turn away from my family either. In reality, Apple River wasn’t that far away. Just a car ride, and some good conversation with my brothers when they came down. That was always a strange time, though, because I was still hiding the secret from them. The last thing I wanted to do was get them involved.
It was a Sunday night, and I had been there all weekend. Libby and I had packed up more of her things, having decided to bring her to Galena to get settled in. She was going to go back and forth for a little bit longer, working at the hospital, but she was already excited about transferring to the hospital in Galena. She felt like she could bring a lot to the place, especially since she had heard it was a lot smaller than the one she was in. She had a way of looking at the world that stunned me. I had always been a positive person—I had to be, for my brothers and my father, and even for myself. But Libby, she was on another level with it. And it wasn’t like she was putting on a brave face either. She truly believed the positive outlook that she had.
“We’re going to miss having you guys around every day,” Libby’s mother said with a smile.
Arthur reached over and took her hand, giving her a wink. “Though I don’t think I’m going to mind too much. I have some time to make up with this beautiful lady. And we have a garden we need to get started on for next season.”
Libby grinned, leaning her chin in her hand. “I just still can’t believe that you’re here. It’s been six months and I still have to double-check every time I come over.”
Her mother gave her a smile, a moment between the two of them. “Libby, I’m sorry that I ever told you to stop waiting. The truth is, I never stopped waiting.”
Libby chuckled, taking a bite of her food. “I know you didn’t. I knew that, when you were down in the garden, you were there with Dad. But I also knew you were trying to protect me. Everyone is always trying to protect me, and I love it. There’s nothing better than being protected by the people that you love. And at the same time, I get to protect you guys too.”
Her mother reached across with her other hand and gripped Libby’s tightly. “I’m very glad, on top of all of that, that you get to start having your own life again. You’ve taken care of me for far too long. It’s time for the two of you to take care of each other.”
Libby glanced at me, and my heart fluttered. I was ready to take care of her. She had become the love of my life, and I promised her that I would always protect her. Thinking about that brought visions of the dark shifters into my mind. Turning my head, I glanced out the window at the woods.
“They’re still out there,” Arthur said, watching me. “They do this from time to time. When they sense that they are on the verge of losing their position, they go into hiding, and then they start building a plan to get stronger and stronger. So, this is our time too. They’ll be back, and they’ll be back with a vengeance. But I’m going to get you all trained up, and we’re going to be ready for them. They’re not going to know what hit them.”
I smiled at him, loving how motivated he was, how sure of himself he was. I had gotten a lot better at being with my wolf, or being one with my wolf. I still had a long way to go, though, and I was glad that I had Arthur to train me. Arthur also gave Libby a sense of security, knowing that the man she loved was with the father she adored. She knew that we would take care of each other, have each other’s backs, and always protect each other no matter what. She no longer waited up for me at night when I came back from training, and she never followed me into the woods again. After the last time, I was pretty sure that wouldn’t happen again. She always greeted me in the morning with a kiss and a cup of coffee.
Bruised and banged up, I dragged my body back into the house over and over again. And over and over again, my nurse pushed me back to health. I joked with her all the time about how her medical knowledge was the only reason we were together and she joked back with me, telling me my suave flirtation and charming demeanor were the only reasons she was with me. We always busted each other’s balls, and it was fantastic. She had become close with my brothers too, giving it to them just as hard as they gave it to her. They loved being around her because she never held back.
Arthur cleared his throat, and his face went serious for a moment. He leaned forward toward me, talking directly to me. “There’s something else that I want to tell you about. I’ve been waiting to tell you until I knew that your mind was settling into always being focused as both your wolf and your human. There are other good wolves out there, lots of them. They really span all over the world, but as far as this area is concerned, it’s always been known as the place where the dark shifters spawn. I’ve noticed, especially after we took down the new dark wolf six months ago, that those good wolves have started to come together as a pack. They’re moving in this direction; we won’t be alone. While the dark wolves are building an army, we’ll be building our own as well.”
I gave him a stern nod. “I look forward to meeting them. I look forward to learning from them. I’m sure there are many things that even we don’t know about the wolves from around the world.”
Arthur smiled. “It’s funny how we learn things even when we think we know it all, even
when we think we’re at an age where we can’t be surprised by anything. My daughter does that to me all the time.”
I looked over at her, her cheeks rosy and her eyes glistening, and I could feel the small box in my pocket pressing against my leg. I took in a deep breath, releasing her hand and pushing my chair back. “Since you brought it up, it is shocking how many things we learn from the people that we don’t realize at first are meant to be in our lives. I figured since this is our last full night with you guys, this would be the perfect time for me to hand over something that I’ve been holding for Libby.”
She furrowed her brow, glancing at my father and then up at me. “My father knows, doesn’t he?”
I chuckled. “Of course. I keep nothing from him. Well, I keep some things from him, but the important things I don’t. Besides, I think that it was important that he know before you.”
She pushed her chair out and around, crossing her legs and looking at me. “All right, let’s see it.”
I laughed, shaking my head and pulling the ring box out of my pocket. Her face slowly eased into shock, and her hands fell to her lap. I bent down on one knee, putting one hand on hers and holding the ring box in my hand at my side. I looked deeply into her eyes, loving the way that she always calmed me, both my human and my animal.
“Libby, I never expected to meet you. I never expected anything that has happened over the last seven months to happen. But even though at times I can be extremely hairy, bitter, and even smelly, you never batted an eye.”
She chuckled. “I hold my nose sometimes. But only when you and my father decide to go romping through the river.”