Saved by the Big Bad Wolf: A Darkhills Romance

by Elizabeth Greene

Violent flames licked up over the roof, pouring out from the window and door. Heavy breathing and a chuckle could just about be heard over the roar of the fire. As he continued to watch his home be consumed by the blaze the gas cannister inside blew and an explosion boomed. A male curse was heard, and the video switched to show a clean pair of worker boots, eating up the ground in retreat before the video cut off.

  Cayden swallowed hard and dialled-in to listen to the voice message from the Beta.

  You have something of mine wolf, and I want it back. See that the female is returned and stay the fuck out of Darkhills. You play nice and we won’t hunt you down and kill you. This is my territory now and if you so much as step foot here again, we’ll skin you and the female alive.

  Cold fear for Rose slammed into him with a ferocity that seized his heart. He had no choice but to walk away from her now. He couldn’t even see her safely home himself before leaving her. The Beta clearly had no qualms about Cayden having killed the Alpha. He just wanted Rose back.

  Bile rose in his throat at the thought of what would become of her upon her return. But she’d be alive, and she had a home, a job, friends and family to care for her and protect her as best they could. Which was more than what Cayden could do. He was a strong wolf, but he wouldn’t be able to outrun or fight off an entire pack of avenging males. He typed out a quick reply and pressed send, tossing his phone back into his bag with anger.

  Cayden: She’ll be at Riverdale Hospital by noon. She is unharmed.

  He didn’t like it, but his only option was to do what Russell had commanded. For the safety of his mate, he had to let her go.

  “Cayden, what’s wrong?” Rose rushed from the shower room, a towel haphazardly wrapped around her and threw herself into his embrace. “My wolf is going crazy.” She explained, holding him tight.

  Cayden wrapped his arms around her and held her back, cherishing the contact.

  “Just a little complication with the Beta is all.” He swallowed hard, placing a kiss to the top of her head to keep her from looking up at him. He couldn’t bear for her to see the lie behind his eyes. “I’ll drop you at the hospital to visit with your grandma and I’ll take care of it quickly before we head back. Nothing to worry about.”

  “You promise?” Rose stubbornly lifted her head to look at him, her beguiling, green eyes piercing his heart. He fought not to catch his breath.

  “I promise, my love.” He worked to keep his voice steady.

  A small smile lifted at her lips and it was like the sun breaking across the morning sky.

  “My love.” She beamed at him. “I like that.”

  “That’s what you are.” Cayden replied honestly, “My beautiful Rose, my love.”

  His heart broke as he brought his lips down to take hers in a soul searing kiss. He would remember her like this for always. Smiling, contented and warm in his arms. He poured everything into their kiss, wanting to leave her with one lasting memory of the love that her true mate had for her.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Rose

  Rose walked through to the hospital to the main reception desk with a frown on her face.

  Cayden had smiled at her and squeezed her hand tightly as he had dropped her at the hospital, asking her to pass on his regards to her grandmother. Which all seemed fine on the surface of things. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right. Her inner wolf sensed it too, her ears twitching as she lay there, alert. His smile hadn’t met his eyes. That was the problem. There was a distance there that she didn’t like, it felt foreboding.

  Perhaps he was just thinking about what he needed to do before they returned home to face Russell. He’d said it wasn’t anything major though. The Beta was probably demanding some kind of payment, with things being as they were in the pack, she wouldn’t be surprised if the whole situation was seen as a way of fattening the finances.

  Maybe he was thinking about the new business opportunity that he had mentioned the night before. Either way her mate had much on his mind. It was no wonder really. Rose could sympathize. She too had a lot to think about.

  She checked in and followed the directions given by the kind woman at the reception desk to the ward where her grandmother was recuperating. Rose heard her grandmother’s raucous laughter before she even entered the room.

  Dr. Samantha Rivers was standing next to her grandmother’s bed with a broad smile, her eyes sparkling with humour.

  “Oh, Rose my darling girl, come on over. I want you to meet this young woman right here.” Judy Woods called, as she beckoned her into the room.

  The elderly lady was seemingly in high spirits as she sat up in bed against a pile of neatly stacked pillows. Her hair was loose around her face, but Rose could still see the bruising that painted dark shadows over her skin.

  “Hey Gran.” Rose greeted her with a light hug and kiss to her forehead, mindful of her injuries. “How you feeling today?”

  “Oh fine, just fine. I keep telling Dr. Rivers here that they should let me go already.” Judy replied, flapping her hands in the air dismissively.

  “Good morning Rose,” Samantha smiled at her from across the hospital bed, “I was just telling your grandmother that she needs to stay in a few days more for observation. But to take the edge off, I’ve set her the challenge of seeing how many of the male nurses she can make blush before she leaves.”

  “Grandma,” Rose warned cautiously,

  “I wager she can embarrass three of them.” Samantha smiled indulgently at Judy, her eyes, crinkling at the sides.

  “And I told you I’ll have ‘em all turning beetroot before the day is done.” Judy wagged her finger.

  Rose couldn’t help but laugh. Samantha had been as good as her word and had clearly been taking excellent care of her grandmother.

  “As if you needed the extra encouragement.” She leaned in and placed another kiss on her head.

  “If you will excuse me ladies, I’ve got a few other patients to check on. But I’ll be back later to see how successful you’ve been Mrs. Woods.” Samantha beamed and glided effortlessly around the bed in her heels. Rose really didn’t know how she did it.

  “You call me Judy now darlin’, and just you wait: before the day is done.” Judy called back at her as she walked towards the door.

  “We shall see Judy, we shall see. Good seeing you again Rose, we’ll catch up later.” Samantha shot them another megawatt smile before turning down the corridor.

  Rose looked back at her grandma and smiled. Seeing her in good spirits brought a lightness to her heart.

  “So, they’ve been treating you OK?” She asked as she fussed with her grandmother’s bed sheets.

  “Yup, no complaints here.” Her grandma shrugged lightly, wincing as the movement jarred her healing collarbone.

  “Oh Gran, careful.” Rose instantly began rearranging the pillows to try to ease her discomfort.

  “Quit fussing girl and catch me up.” Judy ordered brusquely.

  “Catch you up with what?” Rose asked, ignoring her request and continuing to plump the pillows.

  “What went on between you and that big, bad hunk of wolf last night.”

  Rose blushed furiously.

  “I don’t know what you mean. Cayden was a gentleman.” Rose stammered.

  “Uh huh.” Judy watched Rose from the corner of her eye. “Darlin, I may be old, and I might not be able to shift any more but there’s nothing wrong with my nose.”

  “Gran!” Rose chastised. Mortification crept over her and threatened to swallow her whole.

  “Oh, don’t be so prudish, Rose. It’s normal for newly mated wolves.”

  “Well, if you must know we aren’t fully mated yet. Like I said, Cayden was a gentleman. We used protection. He didn’t want me to make any fast choices considering everything that happened.” Rose finally stopped fussing and stood with her arms firmly crossed over her chest.

  “Sounds smart.” Judy considered, “Was he good to you darling? You feeli
ng alright?”

  Her brow creased with gentle concern, she reached out and took Rose’s hand in hers. Judy Woods might have been a hard-nosed queen of sass, but she cared deeply about her granddaughter.

  Rose smiled softly, despite the embarrassment she felt discussing such things with her grandma.

  “Yeah Gran, he was sweet with me.”

  That seemed to appease the elder wolf. She gave Rose’s hand a squeeze and let go.

  “Well alright then.” The woman looked down at her lap and straightened out the covers before a wicked grin spread across her face. “Although I didn’t ask if he was sweet, I wanted to know if he was good?”

  Rose huffed out her exasperation. The woman was incorrigible. She needed to either lay off, or read more of those romance novels, Rose wasn’t sure which would work best.

  “Yes Grandma, he was good. Very much so. There are no problems with the wolf in that department.”

  “But there are problems?” Judy sobered and cocked her head at her granddaughter.

  Rose sighed. There was no beating around the bush with her.

  “Yes. There’s a problem.”

  “Is it about what happened with Sam? That wolf of yours is more than prepared to take whatever punishment they lay at him, if any. That son of a bitch tried to force you Rose and he struck an elder. Sam signed his own death warrant.”

  “No, no. It’s not about Sam, although I don’t think that helps matters.” Rose said, “He’s a lone wolf Gran, and he’s been with me. Both of us will be expected to leave the pack and no other pack will take us in around here. I’d be leaving you behind and I’m not sure I can do that.”

  Rose threw herself down on her grandmother’s lap, to avoid her seeing the tears that had started to fall.

  “Oh, darlin’ is that all? You are true mates; pack law has to take that into account. He could join the pack; he’d need to be vouched for and he’d be an omega but that ain’t the end of the world.” Judy soothed, her hands stroking over Rose’s hair. “Or you leave with him baby girl, I wouldn’t want to be the reason you fought your mating bond.”

  At that Rose sat up and looked at her grandmother’s soft and kind expression.

  “I can’t leave you Gran.”

  “Oh, sure you can. Your mother left, she followed her heart, and I didn’t feel an ounce of sadness.”

  “But Mom and Dad died Gran. Look where their mating bond led them.”

  “I am looking baby girl.” Her grandmother smiled gently, and cupped Rose’s tear-stained cheeks. “I miss her each and every day, but I don’t ever wish that your mother hadn’t fallen for your father. Their bond was full of love and it led to you.”

  Rose cried fresh tears at her words.

  “Hush now darlin.” Her grandma soothed as she embraced her again, stroking the back of her head. “It’ll all work out.”

  A commotion at the entrance to the room broke through their tender moment. Rose’s head snapped up to see Carly come running into the room closely followed by Clint who wore a look of deep concern. A nurse came hurrying in and threw her hands up in the air before spinning on her heel and rushing back out.

  “Oh, thank the lord!” Carly exhaled as she rushed over to Rose and pulled her in tightly against her chest.

  “Carly? What’s going on? How did you know I was here?” Rose asked as she clung to her friend.

  “We came as soon as we knew.” Carly half sobbed, “Judy, we’re going to make that son of a bitch pay for what he’s done to you.”

  “Knew what? About Sam?” Rose finally pushed away from her friend and fixed her with a confused look.

  “We got word that you’d been taken by that fucking wolf. That he killed Sam when he tried to stop him from kidnapping you.” Clint growled out, “Russ told him to give you up or we’d be coming for him. The coward told us where to find you.”

  Rose’s head spun with the misinformation.

  “Oh Rose, what did he do to you?” Carly pulled her in for another choking hug.

  “Now hold on a second.” The stern voice of her grandmother cut in.

  “Don’t worry Mrs. Woods, we’re still going to track him down. The wolf can’t run forever.” Clint held up a hand.

  “You ain’t gonna track down shit, Clint Davidson.” Her grandmother growled.

  Rose pulled away from her friend forcibly.

  “You’ve got it all wrong. Cayden didn’t kidnap me, he didn’t hurt Gran, and he sure as hell would never doing anything to me that I didn’t want him to.” Her wolf’s hackles raised up defensively, her need to protect her mate pulsing in her veins.

  “Oh honey, he did that Stockholm thing on you.” Carly’s face filled with sadness and pity.

  Rose growled her frustration.

  “It’s Stockholm Syndrome and no I am not suffering with it. Sam tried to force me to mate with him. Sam hit Gran. If Cayden hadn’t shown up when he did, I would’ve most likely been raped by that son of a bitch.”

  “Are you sure?” Carly asked, her face pale.

  “Of course she’s sure!” her grandmother snapped, “Sam McClaw came to my home to try to persuade me to hand Rose over to him. I refused and when Rose arrived, he showed his true colours. He grabbed at her and made it perfectly clear what he intended to do. When I tried to stop him, that bastard hit me and dragged my darlin girl across the dirt.”

  Her grandmother’s witness statement hung in the air between them for a moment. The faces of the two other wolves shifted from disbelief to fury as they absorbed her words.

  “Cayden Greystone saved me.” Rose said clearly, her wolf standing proud. “He is a good and decent wolf, and you can hear it from him just as soon as he gets back.”

  “Oh god Rose, I’m so sorry.” Carly sobbed again, “I had no idea. Russell told us,”

  “Russell told us he’d found Sam’s body and that you and your grandmother had been taken. Everyone thought Cayden was to blame.” Clint offered, rubbing apologetically at the back of his head. “I should’ve known.”

  “It’s OK, how could you have?” Rose offered, her wolf coming down from high alert.

  “Oh, hell Rose I’m so sorry.” He shook his head solemnly, “Russ asked us yesterday to let your tires down, so you’d be forced to pull over. Sam wanted to turn up and act all macho to impress you or something. Nate and I didn’t want to go along with it, but Russ said it was Alpha’s orders.”

  “You did what?!” It was Carly’s turn to growl, her eyes fixed firmly on her mate.

  “We had no choice, we hoped that that tires would hold out until you got to your grandma’s.” Clint held out his hands in surrender. “I’m so sorry Rose. I should’ve been stronger. I should’ve stood up to him.”

  “Damn right you should have.” Carly glared at him.

  “What’s done is done.” Judy Woods spoke up, “Now we all know the truth and can make sure that the rest of the Darkhills pack knows it too.”

  “That’s right.” Agreed Rose, “Once Cayden arrives, we can all head back and tell Russell what happened.”

  At that moment Samantha strode into the already crowded room.

  “Alright, there are far too many wolves in my hospital, and I want to know why.” Her face was stern, and her hands planted on her hips. “Rose, do these two need to leave?”

  “No, no, it’s OK. These are my friends. There was just a little misunderstanding is all. When Cayden arrives, we’ll be on our way.” Rose explained.

  The doctor visibly relaxed.

  “OK, good, but you’ll need to head on out. Only one visitor at a time to see Mrs. Woods.” She sighed and turned on her heel to leave, pausing at the doorway “Oh and say sorry to Cayden for me. When I heard we had more wolves from your pack I assumed the worst and left him a message telling him to get his butt over here.”

  At that Samantha’s phone pinged in her pocket, she pulled it out and read the message. Her face paled and she cursed under her breath. She turned and held the phone out to Rose with a wor
ried expression.

  Rose’s stomach plummeted as she read the text.

  Cayden: Tell Rose I’m sorry.

  Everyone in the room cowered as Rose’s wolf howled its despair.

  Her mate was gone.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Cayden

  Cayden’s head pounded as he sped along the freeway. If the clawing and biting of his inner wolf wasn’t enough, his head and heart ached more with every mile he put between him and his mate. He finally pulled over at a roadside diner. His phone had been buzzing beside him in the passenger seat almost the whole way. He snatched it up and saw missed calls from Samantha. He expected this might happen. He didn’t even listen to the voice message, deleting it immediately. He just typed out a short text in response. Every word of it like a heavy weight lodging in his gut.

  Cayden: Tell Rose I’m sorry.

  He tossed his phone back onto the seat and slammed the door of his truck shut behind him. He paced the parking lot trying to breathe and ignore the intense pain churning within him.

  His wolf was furious and was causing a snarling, barking storm within.

  “I know!” Cayden shouted out loud at his own turmoil.

  A few customers entering the diner eyed him warily. Yes, there was a reason for him looking like a madman. Because he was a madman.

  Cayden stormed out of the parking lot and out behind the diner where a small meadow was situated. A few humans were milling about, exercising their dogs; giving them a moment to stretch their legs after long journeys in cramped cars. All the animals pricked up their ears at the arrival of the apex predator and went cowering behind their owner’s legs. The suspicious and scathing looks from the humans made him feel even worse than he already did.

  Cayden cursed. He needed to calm his wolf down.

  He strode through the long grass until he reached the far end of the enclosed field, leaning against the fence he closed his eyes and concentrated on his breathing. The fresh scents of the grasses and wildflowers helped ground his wolf. He couldn’t shift and run free out into the mountains that loomed in the distance, not in such a densely populated area, but he could allow nature to flood his senses and lull his animal.