Wolf Of The Past: Family Lost - A Werewolf Romance (Spirit Of The Wolf Book 1)

by A. D. McLain

  Artemis looked at her sharply. “Did you just call me ‘Uncle Artie’?”

  “Yes. Why?” she asked cautiously. What had she done? Would it help her, or hurt her? And where was David when she needed him?

  Artemis considered the implications of her use of that name. Richard always used it to annoy him, but no one else had called him Artie. The few times he’d visited Nicole before the plane crash, without anyone’s knowledge of course, she had called him that name. She’d gotten it from her father back then, but how did she know about it now? “That’s the name you used to call me.” He watched her suspiciously, his eyes beginning to change color. He took another step towards her. “What else have you remembered?”

  “I don’t understand.” Nicole took a step back. She tried her best to avoid eye contact, without seeming obvious. “I haven’t remembered anything. What would I remember?” She took another cautious step backward.

  “Don’t play games with me. Why did you call me Artie?”

  He continued stepping towards her, and Nicole continued to back up. “I don’t know. It just came out. I didn’t mean to upset you, you’re the only family I have.” She tried to sound as honest as she could.

  He paused, seeming unsure what to think. His eyes stopped changing color, and Nicole let herself breathe again. She needed to make the most of his uncertainty.

  Artemis placed a hand on a statue which sat on the end table beside him. He traced the lines on its smooth surface, while he considered what to do. “All right then, if you don’t want to leave the house, allow me to get rid of Mr. Coverton. He has no business being in this house.”

  Nicole shook her head. “I don’t want to make any hasty decisions. This house has been his for many years.”

  “It doesn’t belong to him!” His voice filled with anger again and Nicole flinched. Artemis noticed her discomfort and took a calming breath, walking the remaining distance and putting a hand against her face. His voice was gentle when he spoke again. “I don’t want him to hurt you. He’s evil. You’re too young to understand true evil.”

  She forced herself to stay still. “Maybe you’re right. I don’t understand how anyone could kill their own family, or anyone else for that matter. It’s beyond my comprehension.”

  Artemis stared at her for a few moments, and a grin almost appeared. If she believed Coverton killed his family, she’d be easy to turn to his advantage. He angled his head, and light glinted off something behind her. He narrowed his eyes, trying to distinguish what it was. Streaks of red flashed across his eyes and his hand tightened painfully on a chunk of Nicole’s hair, drawing an involuntary whimper of pain from her. “How did you get that?” he hissed.

  “Get what?”

  “That.” Still holding her hair, he wrenched her around and pointed to the snake-shaped dagger lying on the nightstand.

  She swallowed nervously. This was getting quickly out of hand. “I found it and I thought it looked neat, so I thought I’d keep it.”

  “Where did you find it?” he demanded.

  “In the mountains. David took me to the place where I was found. Why does it upset you so much?” she asked, trying to sound innocent. “Do you know who it belongs to?”

  Before she could gauge if he was buying it, Artemis twisted her around and focused on her eyes. The colors in his eyes began to swirl in their hypnotic rhythm, and pressure built in Nicole’s head.

  In her mind’s eye, she could see a hallway filled with locked doors. The door handles on each one were shaking, but none would open. The pressure in her head increased, tears brimming in her eyes.

  The doors flew open simultaneously and a flood of images hit her. It seemed as if her entire life was flashing before her eyes. Every thought. Every memory. This must be what it’s like to die, she mused. She was pushed up against the wall. The pressure in her head went away, and her mind started to clear but something else was wrong. She fought for breath and realized something was preventing it. Blinking her eyes open, she discovered Artemis standing in front of her with his hands wrapped around her neck. She tried to shout, to scream, but no sound came out. The room began to blur.

  She tried to fight him, but she was too weak. Too much had happened today, she’d inhaled too much smoke, she’d dealt with too much stress.

  A loud crash of someone hitting the door drew Artemis’ attention, and he loosened his grip. Nicole gathered all her remaining energy and raised her knee, slamming it into Artemis’ groin.

  Artemis howled in pain, further loosening his grip on her neck. Nicole slipped out of his grip and stumbled away, dizziness bringing her to her knees.

  Artemis grabbed her arm. Nicole pulled free, dragging herself up onto her feet, but he grabbed at her again. She batted away at his arms and continued to back away. A cool breeze and the touch of cold metal against her skin briefly caught her attention. She wondered momentarily how they’d gotten out onto the balcony, but Artemis soon commanded her full attention again, pushing the question from her mind.

  He finally managed to rope his hands around her neck again. Nicole knew she didn’t have a chance of prying his fingers loose, so she reached for his neck instead, tightening her fingers around his throat.

  Artemis slammed her body against the railing several times in a row, trying to force her to let go. She started losing consciousness again. Artemis slammed her into the railing once more, only this time, the railing didn’t stop her.

  Nicole started falling, and the pressure left her neck. The falling sensation abruptly stopped, but she experienced a painful yank on her arm, which was stretched above her head.

  Nicole looked above her to discover Artemis was gripping onto her arm. Beyond him far below was the ground. She looked in the opposite direction, with great effort, to her feet. The broken railing was visible and her pants leg was caught up on the metal, but the material was already starting to rip. It wouldn’t hold her for long.

  Nicole hear the sound of ripping fabric and she dropped down by another inch.

  Artemis’ hand around her wrist started to slip. He frantically fought to hold on, his fingers closing around her jacket sleeve, but his struggling only made her pants leg rip more. She risked another look upwards.

  She was hanging on, almost literally by a thread. Her jacket slipped from her shoulder, creeping down her arm until it was all Artemis was holding onto.

  She heard the material of her pants rip again, and knew they’d torn free from the railing. Almost simultaneously, Artemis screamed as her jacket slipped off, sending him falling toward the ground.

  Nicole braced herself, but she didn’t follow him in the downward spiral to the ground. She looked up to discover David holding her leg. He braced against what was left of the railing and reached for her other leg. Very carefully, he pulled her back up onto the balcony and wrapped his arms around her.

  Nicole held him tightly and let herself relax into his comforting embrace.

  25

  “Thanks for bringing me home.” Meg unbuckled her seat belt and opened the car door. Cold air outside hit her, making her even more reluctant to leave the warm car and friendly company.

  Mark leaned back in his seat. “No problem. Are you sure you’re all right?”

  Meg glanced over at him and smiled. It was the first time she’d really looked at him since they first got in the car. For some reason, she felt uncharacteristically shy around him. It was probably only because of everything which had happened “I’m fine. Hey, I’ve been through worse.” She shrugged and gave a shaky laugh.

  “Really?” Mark asked, turning to her. He studied her face and opened his senses to her, but she was too closed off. He couldn’t read anything. How could she have been through much worse than tonight? She was threatened into tricking her best friend and then knocked out with chloroform. Most people never experienced so much drama in their entire lives, and she couldn’t be more than twenty years old.

  The smile left her face and she shifted uncomfortably. If she wasn�
�t already on edge, she’d be able to keep up the mask she’d perfected over the years, but she couldn’t. Too many of her real emotions were slipping through, too close to the surface. Why did he have to use a knife? “Yeah, you know how it is.”

  Mark lifted his chin. “And how is it?”

  Meg shrugged. “It’s rough. It’s life. It makes you want to be someone else for a few minutes, just to escape from yourself. Anyway, I really must be going. Thanks again.” She tried to stand, but her purse dragged her back down. She glanced down and discovered the strap was caught on the gearshift. A small sigh of relief escaped her when she heard a cell phone start to ring. With Mark on the phone, he wouldn’t be able to question her anymore.

  She stood up, ready to make a hasty retreat but Mark’s conversation made her pause. It sounded as though he was talking to David, but why would David be calling him now? It wasn’t that long since they’d seen each other. She pretended to tie her shoelace and listened closely to the conversation.

  “Tonight? Just now? Wow, how’s that for timing? Is she okay? All right, I’ll be right over.” Mark snapped the phone shut, and put it back in his pocket.

  “What happened? Is Nicole okay?” Meg leaned back into the car and looked over at Mark.

  Mark studied her closely. Should he tell her anything? He couldn’t get into her head, but her concern seemed genuine, and Nicole obviously trusted her. “Nicole was attacked, but she’s okay. I don’t know any more details yet.”

  Meghan leaped back into the car and closed the door. She took one look at the expression on Mark’s face and shook her head. “Don’t even think about telling me to get out. I have to make sure Nicole’s okay.

  Mark admired her loyalty. With everything that happened to her, she’d still pushed it all away the second Nicole was in trouble. “Okay, but buckle up, or I’ll have to give you a ticket.”

  She smiled at the unexpected joke and put her seat belt back on. “Okay.”

  Mark put the gearshift back into drive and turned the car around.

  “How are you feeling?” David lowered Nicole onto the couch and settled down beside her.

  “I—” Pain shot through her throat with the attempt to speak. She could still feel Artemis’ hands around her neck, strangling the life out of her. She trembled. If David hadn’t shown up when he did…

  “Let me get you some water.”

  She put out a hand to stop him. “Wait.”

  He smiled and raised one hand to her face. “I see you’re getting the telepathy thing down.”

  She smiled faintly. “Artemis?”

  “I tied him up in the study, and I called Mark. He should be here soon. Then we can decide what to do from there.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I’m just glad I got there in time.” He shook his head. “I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t.”

  She ran a hand along the side of his face. “It’s over now.”

  The doorbell rang and Nicole jumped. She glanced over at David with a shaky smile. “I guess my nerves are a little shot.”

  “That’s okay. You’re entitled.” David stood and kissed Nicole’s hand. “It’s probably Mark. I’ll get the door and bring you some water for that throat of yours.”

  Nicole watched him leave the room and leaned back against the couch, all the energy leaving her body. She closed her eyes and listened to the sound of her own breath. She didn’t ever want to move again.

  Well, maybe she could be compelled to move for a couple of things. A grin came to her lips, but even the thought of making love with David wasn’t enough to make her move currently.

  She didn’t even realize she’d dropped off to sleep until the sound of Meghan’s voice made her jerk awake. “Nicole, are you okay?”

  Nicole stared up at her friend in confusion. She didn’t remember calling Meg. “What are you doing here?” she asked in a raspy voice.

  “I was with Mark when David called. What happened?” Meg settled in a nearby chair and placed a protective hand on Nicole’s shoulder.

  “It’s a long story,” Nicole croaked. She coughed a couple of times, holding her hand against her throat. Every word she spoke made her throat seem as if it was rubbing against sandpaper.

  David reentered the room and handed her a glass of water, helping her to sit up a little and lift the glass to her mouth. “Mark is checking on Artemis.”

  “Who is Artemis?” Meghan asked, sounding completely confused.

  “My uncle.” Nicole cringed. The water had helped her throat a little, but it still hurt to speak.

  “The ropes seem to be holding him for now,” Mark announced, walking into the room. “But I added a pair of ‘special’ reinforced handcuffs to be sure.” He looked meaningfully at David.

  The doorbell rang again, and Nicole looked up at David questioningly. He shrugged. “I didn’t call anyone else. I’ll go see who it is.” David leaned over and kissed Nicole briefly on the cheek. “I’ll be right back.”

  A few minutes later, David came into the room, followed by an elegant woman. She had long black hair with a streak of white, and she wore a long, flowing, dark purple dress.

  Nicole recognized her at once as the woman who owned Cleo’s. Nicole realized she wasn’t in fact, all that surprised to see her tonight, considering the way she’d always felt around the woman.

  “What’s going on here?” Meg asked, sounding exasperated.

  Nicole offered Meg a comforting smile. She suspected Meg must have recognized the woman, too. “Why don’t you come with me to the kitchen, and I’ll fill you in.” She stood up wearily and motioned in the direction of the kitchen, following behind Meg. She paused when she reached David and gave him a quick kiss. “I’ll be back in a little bit.”

  “Are you sure you’re up to this?”

  “No,” she smiled. “But I thought I could make some tea or something to help my throat.”

  “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  Nicole continued towards the kitchen, but when she past Mark she felt him brush his hand lightly against her shoulder. She glanced up into his eyes and noticed some of the pain in her throat subsided. Her shoulder felt warmer where Mark’s hand had touched it. She wasn’t sure what had happened, but she smiled, accepting the small favor quietly before she continued towards the kitchen.

  Meg backed up from the kitchen doorway. She wasn’t certain what had just happened between Mark and Nicole. Maybe he was just trying to comfort her after the horrible night she’d experienced. That had to be it. After all, Nicole was obviously crazy about David. So why was Meg feeling so jealous? It wasn’t as if she had a thing for Mark, that would be crazy. They’d only just met. She almost jumped when she felt Nicole’s hand on her back. Pushing back her confusing emotions, she followed Nicole into the kitchen.

  “Do you want some tea?” Nicole noticed her voice sounded a lot better, and it didn’t hurt to talk anymore.

  “I guess. What’s going on here?” Meghan let her curiosity come to the forefront again, taking the place of her other, troubling emotions.

  Nicole put two cups of water in the microwave and got out the tea bags. “It’s a long story.” She considered how much she should tell Meg and decided to tell her everything. If anyone would understand, it would be Meg, and she needed to tell someone. First things first, though. “How are you doing?”

  “Me? I’m fine.”

  “Are you sure? You were fairly shaken up earlier. I haven’t seen you even close to being that upset since we were kids.” Meg usually never let anything get to her. She always put forth a cheerful face, even when she was upset. To cry like that in public, Meg must have been really freaked out.

  “I’m fine,” Meg insisted, the tone of her voice discouraging further discussion. “I’m more worried about you right now. What happened here tonight?”

  Nicole sighed. This was more like the Meg she knew. Maybe she hadn’t been affected as much as Nicole thought. No, it had definitely
gotten to her – she was just ignoring it for now. Maybe she could get Meg to talk about it later.

  She might as well tell Meg what she wanted to know right now. “The man who tried to hurt me tonight had something to do with my biological parents. I’ve found out a lot of stuff lately about my birth family, where I come from, and the nightmares. I even found proof that I wasn’t crazy for believing in all that paranormal stuff.” She took the cups out of the microwave and put the tea bags in them. “You know all those legends about psychics, vampires, and the Lock Ness monster that I used to tell you about?”

  “Yeah.” Meg was almost afraid to let Nicole go on. Where could she be going with this?

  Nicole took a deep breath. “Well, it turns out that some people in my family can shape shift. Specifically, some have been able to change into wolves.”

  “What? Where did you hear all this?” Things were getting stranger by the minute. Meg was almost certain she would wake up soon and realize this had all been a dream.

  “From that man in the other room, the one who attacked me. You see, he’s my uncle.”

  “If he tried to kill you, I don’t know if he’s the most reliable source.”

  “True, but I’ve seen some things. Meg, haven’t you noticed that I’m not wearing my glasses?”

  “Yeah, now that you mention it.” Meg must have been more distracted than she realized to miss picking up on that earlier.

  “The truth is, I can see without them now. When the meeting hall exploded, I was badly hurt, but I healed amazingly quickly. And you remember how that black wolf saved my life? You saw the wolf. I’m not going crazy here. It’s really happening.” Nicole rested her hands on the table, thinking a second too late that she should watch out for her wrists, but the expected pain didn’t come. They weren’t hurting anymore. She pulled up the edges of the bandage on one wrist and noticed the many scratches which had been there were gone. Other than some dried blood, her wrists were completely back to normal. “Look, this is just what I was talking about.” She pulled off the bandages and held her arms out for Meg to inspect. “They were all scratched up and bleeding from the ropes Steagel used to tie me up. You can see all the blood which has been left on the bandages, but there isn’t any injuries left on my arms.” Nicole pulled back her hands and sat back in a chair, tossing the bloody bandages into the nearby trash can and rubbing off a little of the dried blood with her fingers.