Hungry Like a Wolf

by Jessica Lynch

  “Maddox, honey, you did what you had to. You know that, don’t you?”

  “Colt’s gonna—”

  “Colt’s going to understand. If he tried to get up, he’d only end up hurting himself more. And I know you big, tough shifters like to think you’re infallible. You can still get hurt like the rest of us. He was thrown through a window by a witch. Six floors high, Maddox, right into the road. It’s going to take time for him to heal.”

  “I know.” Frustrated, he ran his free hand through his shaggy mane of hair. “It’s just, I hate feeling so helpless. It’s all my fault—”

  “It’s not. It was her fault,” Evangeline argued, her expression turning dark. Didn’t matter that, without Cilla’s interference, Evangeline was regaining more and more memories every day. If looks could kill, Evangeline would manage what Maddox just missed—Cilla would be a dead witch at last. “She’ll get what she deserves in the end. I don’t want you to spend another second thinking about her and what she did. I won’t let her win. She owned my memories for too long. Forgetting her will be poetic justice.”

  Maddox exhaled. “You’re right. I know you are.” Bending down, he stole a quick kiss. It felt wrong asking for more while Colt was lying unconscious a few feet from them, but he needed that at least. Pulling away, he ran his tongue over his lips. “How did I get you to be my mate again?”

  “Luck,” she said, punctuating the word with a small kiss of her own right on his chin. “Love.” Another kiss, this one on his cheek. “And a touch of fate, I think.” And a final lingering kiss on his mouth.

  “Hey, fellas. Knock, knock, alright?” There was a ghostly hand reaching through the wood, waving slightly as Dodge interrupted the pair. “I hope you ain’t doin’ nothin’ I can’t do in your brother’s room, Mad Dog.”

  Maddox scowled as he reluctantly moved away from Evangeline. “Cool it, Dodge. You know I hate that name.”

  “It’s still better than Hounddog, ain’t it?”

  Evangeline stifled a small chuckle. There hadn’t been much to laugh at since that day at her apartment, but Dodge always managed to lighten the mood.

  “Did he just say ‘knock, knock’?” she asked, making sure. “He’s a ghost. He floats right through the walls. Why is he knocking?”

  “Dodge thinks he’s charming. It’s his way of acting like he’s giving us some privacy in here,” Maddox muttered in explanation. Raising his voice enough to be heard, he called, “Come on in, you peeping tom. Lucky for you we still have our clothes on.”

  Evangeline elbowed her mate in the side as Dodge drifted through the wood, a strange expression on his face. At first he was wearing his usual cocky smirk, his derby tilted forward to hide one of his electric blue eyes. Once he had fully passed into the room, he lifted his hand, resetting his phantom hat so that Maddox could tell that something wasn’t right. Frowning now, his brow furrowed as Dodge looked over at Colt. It was almost as if he was seeing his best friend for the first time.

  Maddox felt the wisp of humor flee from the room. Dodge was Colt’s best friend, but Maddox had known the ghost for almost twenty years. Something wasn’t right.

  He nodded over at him. “Hey, Dodge. You okay?”

  “Yeah. Me? I’m fine. Just… just thinkin’ about something. Anyway, it seems Colt’s got himself another visitor.”

  “Again? The witch was already here.” Luciana had balls, he’d give her that. The head witch stopped by last night to check on Colt. Like the time in the hospital, though, she left when Maddox snapped at her. He had decided she knew more than she was telling and it pissed him off. As far as he was concerned, until she was ready to help Colt, she could stay the hell away from him. “If she came back, tell her she can slink away again for all I care.”

  “Well, that’s the thing, Mad. It, uh, it ain’t her.”

  Dodge was Colt’s only friend. None of the pack would dare enter Colt’s territory unless they were trying to challenge him while he was healing—which was the same thing as signing their death warrant. Maddox would kill to protect his brother and every shifter in the area—packmate or not—knew it.

  It couldn’t be anyone else. Maddox made sure of it. He had even gone so far as to be the buffer between Colt and their parents; that’s how much the guilt got to him. It was bad enough that he finally had to admit that he was released from the Cage, but the worst part was having to tell them that Colton had been thrown out of a window trying to save Evangeline.

  Sarah was dying to dote on her baby boy. To calm her, Maddox promised, once Colt was back on his feet, she could come mother him all she wanted. And, yes, he would bring Evangeline to his parents’ den so that Sarah could see for herself that her older son was finally happy and whole.

  But if it wasn’t Dodge, the witch, or his well-meaning parents… it couldn’t be anyone else.

  Unless—

  His claws unsheathed with a soft snick, his lips twisted in a possessive snarl.

  “Who is it?” he asked Dodge. “If it’s Wright, you better scare him off before I do. I told him to stop sniffing around here.”

  Evangeline sighed. “I keep hoping Adam will give up.”

  “Fucking Adam,” sneered Maddox.

  Apart from seeing Colt back to his full strength, there was nothing he wanted more than to challenge the human cop once and for all. Evangeline refused to let him. He didn't blame her. The outcome was inevitable: Maddox would tear the Ant from limb to limb and, because of Wright’s connections and the damn Claws Clause, Maddox would be put down in a heartbeat.

  Evangeline didn't want to lose either one of them. But that didn’t mean she was keen on seeing her ex again, either.

  After the crime scene was cleared and their statements had been taken, Evangeline and Maddox went straight to the hospital to be with Colt. Wright followed them there, cornered Evangeline while Maddox was filling out paperwork for his brother, and tried to convince her to press charges against Maddox for the kidnapping.

  Evangeline immediately invoked the Claws Clause; now that they were officially bonded, the bond between them superseded any other laws. Wright tried to plead his case, explaining why he lied to her. She wouldn’t budge. Once he left, his tail tucked between his legs, Evangeline immediately found Maddox and told him what had happened. Her description of the devastated look on Wright’s face was probably the only thing that kept Maddox from hunting him down. That, and the fact that Colt had suddenly come to while he was halfway toward the exit. The orderlies and security team needed his help more than Wright needed to be taught a lesson.

  The Ant took it as a sign that he still had a chance. Wright showed up at the Bumptown last night while Maddox was busy coaxing—well, threatening—Colt into eating his spiked dinner. Evangeline had been downstairs, washing dishes and catching up with Dodge when Wright knocked at the front door.

  Evangeline turned him away. By the time Dodge popped into Colt’s room and got Maddox, Wright had already disappeared. Only Evangeline’s murmured please kept him from shifting on the spot and chasing after Wright’s cruiser.

  Taking care of Colt was important. At the same time, his mate needed him, too. So he stayed.

  Wright’s betrayal cut her deep. Knowing that she was a mated—and married—woman, he still tried to build a relationship with her. Wright had been a Cage cop. He had known all about Maddox from the beginning.

  Evangeline was still coming to grips with her mother’s meddling, too. They’d had a long, tear-filled conversation the night after Cilla snatched Evangeline. Naomi Lewis confessed that she kept the truth about Maddox hidden because she blamed him for the accident that nearly killed Evangeline three years ago. All she had wanted was to protect her daughter.

  That was Maddox’s job. And, he vowed, he would spend the rest of his life doing so.

  Naomi was forced to accept his place in her daughter’s life; she had no choice, not now that they had both a marriage license and the bonding license. She was his mother-in-law and Maddox forgav
e her because, in the end, Evangeline’s happiness was all that mattered.

  Wright could jump off a bridge for all he cared.

  As if she could sense that he needed her, Evangeline reached out her hand. He clasped it in a grip like a vice. Pulling her near him, Maddox folded Evangeline in his arms and rested his chin on the top of her head.

  Dodge scowled, a spasm of pain dashing across the shadows of his nearly transparent face before he shook his head. His expression closed off suddenly, only to be replaced by a familiar grin. “It ain’t the cop, either,” he told them. “You don’t gotta worry about him coming back. I tracked him down last night and told him if I saw him skulkin’ around the Bumptown again, I’d go haunt him myself.” Dodge shrugged. “Don't think he liked the idea I might see somethin’ I shouldn’t. He’ll stay away.”

  Evangeline stiffened. “Oh, Dodge. You didn't.”

  “Don't you feel sorry for him, Angie,” Maddox said. He lowered his head and pressed his nose against the crook of her neck and shoulder, nuzzling his bite. “He went after a mated woman. You’re mine. Far as I’m concerned, bastard deserves worse than Dodge getting an eyeful of his dick.”

  Evangeline slapped lazily at Maddox. “Your brother has company. Stop that. Leave me alone.”

  “Never,” he swore, even as he straightened. He turned his flashing gaze on the ghost. “Well?”

  “Well what?”

  “It’s not pack. Not the witch. Wright would have to be a fucking moron to come back. Who’s out there?”

  Dodge thought about it for a second. His lips quirked slightly, his sudden grin devilish. “I think it might be best if I let her tell you herself.”

  Then, before Maddox could argue, he floated back through the closed door and winked out of sight. Considering his grin slid off of his hazy face a split second before he did, Maddox decided Dodge wanted to escape the happily mated couple more than anything else.

  He nearly followed Dodge out of the room; only his protective instincts held him back. He didn’t want to leave his mate or his softly snoring brother unprotected. And while he could bring Evangeline with him, Colt was passed out on the bed. He wasn’t going anywhere any time soon.

  Instead, he let go of his mate, stroking her back gently before resuming his agitated pacing from one side of the master bedroom to the next. Every time he passed her, Evangeline murmured soothing words under her breath, keeping him sane and his wolf calm.

  Maddox caught the scent an instant before he sensed a stranger approaching. The thud of a nervous heartbeat echoed in time to a pair of heeled shoes tapping gently up the stairs. He smelled soap, a twinge of sweat, and a faint wood-burning aroma. It wasn’t acrid, so it wasn’t fear, and he recognized it as determination.

  Determination and something else.

  There was something off about the scent, though. It was faint, sure, but fainter than it should’ve been; it didn’t get any stronger, not even when he could sense the stranger standing outside of the closed bedroom door. It was definitely muted, almost like it was close to missing the way that Evangeline’s had been while she wore that damned and enchanted perfume.

  Maddox had a few seconds to put two and two together before the soft knock echoed around him. Sometimes you got four. And sometimes you got—

  “It’s open. Come in.”

  —a witch.

  It wasn’t just that the woman who moved slowly into the room was cloaked in magic. She was magic. Maddox didn’t need his wolf’s nose to tell him that. Her vivid purple eyes were more than enough of a clue.

  She was probably of average height; compared to Maddox and Evangeline, she was petite. Her skin was a rich olive shade, her witch’s eyes striking against the tone. She had hair that fell past her shoulders, a tumble of loose curls that were so black, they were nearly blue. She kept her head held high as she stopped just inside the door, though she gulped when her gaze fell on Maddox, then Evangeline.

  Then, as if she were drawn to him, she turned to look at Colt. In an instant, it was as if no one else was in the room.

  Maddox cleared his throat. The rasp caught her attention. With a jerk, she tore her gaze away from Colt. If possible, her purple eyes seemed to glow a little brighter. He didn’t sense her using any magic, but there was no denying what she was.

  What was an unknown witch doing at Colt’s house?

  “Who are you?” he asked. So maybe it came out more like a snarl. After what Cilla did, he wasn’t feeling too kindly toward any witches—and this one was a stranger. “What are you doing here?”

  “Maddox!”

  “What?”

  “Don’t pay my husband any mind,” Evangeline said. “I'm still trying to teach him manners.”

  The look that flashed across the witch’s face wished Evangeline luck. Maddox bristled, torn between waiting for her answer and simply calling Dodge back to escort the human out of the Bumptown before he did something he regretted.

  He didn’t get the chance to throw Cilla out of a window. Maybe he could take his revenge out on a different witch.

  He must have given his thoughts away because the witch took a step back. She recovered quickly—he’d give her credit for that—and stepped toward him. Not too close, because it was clear that he guarded his personal space fiercely. Except for his mate, everyone else gave him a wide berth. The witch was no different.

  Maddox gave her credit for that, too.

  “My name is Shea. Why am I here? Well, that’s kind of a long story.” She swallowed, looking for the words. “My grandma finally convinced me that I should just come over here. You see— oh, goddess, I can't believe I'm about to say this—”

  “Just spit it out,” growled Maddox.

  “Maddox!”

  “What? I don’t have time for this. Colt’s lying there, he won’t wake up, and you expect me to listen to some witch’s rambling? Luciana was bad enough, but she’s the head of the coven. This one’s got no reason to be here.”

  Evangeline joined him by his side. She obviously heard the frustration in his grumble, the desperation he could never hide from her. It wasn’t about the witch. They both knew that.

  She took his hand and squeezed it. “He’ll wake up when he’s ready. It’s just taking his body a little longer to recover than we thought, that’s all.”

  The witch—Shea—made a small noise in the back of her throat. “So he’s not healing. I was afraid of that.”

  “A witch did this to him.” That one? That was totally a snarl. He couldn’t stop it from escaping. “The magic is messing with his shifter abilities. Unless you know better than Luciana, you should probably just go.”

  A small smile. It was fleeting yet sad, and Maddox realized that the shock of her wearing her witch’s eyes rather than a glamour hid the fact that she was pretty. She didn’t hold a candle to Evangeline, no one could, but she was pretty enough.

  And she looked as if she would rather be anywhere other than where she was.

  “I wish I could. Sorry. I didn’t want to come—”

  “Then what do you want?”

  “What do I want? For you not to bark at me, for starters. Please don’t think this was my choice. Any of this. It’s not.” She inhaled deeply, winced noticeably, then placed her hand against her side as she exhaled slowly. She purposefully met his alpha stare. “It’s getting worse for me, too.”

  “Oh.” Next to him, Evangeline covered her mouth with her hand. “Oh.”

  Pain. Despite the way Shea kept her scent muted, it spiked when she winced, fading as she controlled her breathing in an effort to fight through it. She’d hidden it well, but she was hurting. Inhaling deeply, Maddox realized that that was the reason she had muted her scent. Shit. How was she even still standing?

  Glancing over at Evangeline, wordlessly asking for permission, he waited until his mate had nodded before he hurried over and scooped the hunched witch up in his brawny arms. She went rigid as soon as he grabbed her, swatting angrily at his arms as he crossed the r
oom.

  He took her by surprise. Maddox never even gave her the chance to curse him, moving quickly before easing her into the high-backed chair next to Colt’s bed.

  Maddox had dragged the wooden beauty up from Colt’s workshop shortly after they moved Colt to his room. His wolf was too anxious to sit and Maddox hadn’t used it; instead, he paced the lengths of the room, watching over his brother. Evangeline said the chair was too uncomfortable to sit in for long and usually sat by the window—as far from Colt as she could get while still being near to her own mate.

  Maddox knew she was lying and didn’t argue. She was only thinking of him. On top of everything else that had happened, the strain of seeing his mate tend so closely to Colt had caused Maddox to snap. As soon as she entered the room, surrounded by Colt’s scent, Maddox lunged at his weakened brother, only stopping when Evangeline rushed forward and grabbed his arm before he could do any damage.

  Since Colt had tried to accept the challenge, even injured and half-groggy from another hospital-grade sedative, they both decided that it was time to put him all the way under while he healed. That’s when Maddox remembered the sedative he used on Evangeline.

  The witch looked like she could have used some of the same drugs. In spite of Evangeline’s claims, the chair was one of Colt’s masterpieces which meant that it looked pretty but, more importantly, was a great piece of furniture. Once Maddox placed her down, Shea immediately curled up against the high back, her hand rubbing her side.

  Maddox snuffled. Her mild scent clung to his clothes. It didn’t matter that Evangeline had given him her blessing. It made his skin itch to be so close to another woman, his wolf howling for its mate.

  His fangs punched out, a wild rumbling growl starting deep in his chest and filling the silence in the room. Evangeline immediately opened her arms, welcoming him into her embrace.

  After giving her one big squeeze, assuring himself she was still there and transferring her scent back to him, Maddox kissed her on the top of her head.