Awakened by the Wolf (20 page)

She didn't need to.

Her stomach, which had climbed high in her chest, dropped suddenly to her feet. The pastry on the front seat wouldn't come close to covering the costs of repairs.

She slammed the car door. A dozen pebbles tumbled down the cracked front windshield, followed by a handful of small rocks that bounced off the damaged hood. A loud pop echoed down the jutted face of the looming mountain. A deafening rumble shuddered the ground.

Of all the freaking luck!

Cassie ran to avoid falling debris. She had seen the roadblocks when highway maintenance crews worked to clear the occasional rockslides. Most of the time, the damage reported was minimal.

This was not one of those times. From the crunch of metal and the shatter of glass, she judged the odds of winning the Powerball without a ticket were higher than the clunker's chances for salvage.

Cassie began to shake even as the ground fell silent. As long as she had a vehicle, Cassie had the means to work and go to school. And, when necessary, a place to sleep. Now all her hopes and dreams lay crushed beneath a pile of rubble.

She seemed destined for failure, no matter what. She worked hard, made the right choices, tried to do her very best with what she had.

What had that gotten her?

Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

Chapter 30

B
rice sensed Cassie coming. He turned from his father, watching for her. An unsettling feeling streaked his gut as Rafe's tow truck came into view. Her car wasn't on it.

Something wasn't right.

Forgetting his father, Brice jogged to where Rafe pulled to a stop. Brice opened the passenger door. “Hey, Sunshine.”

Eyes wide and vacant, she stared straight through him. He pulled her from the cab and set her gently on her feet. “What's wrong?”

“Car accident,” Rafe answered when Cassie didn't.

Brice's chest tightened as the blood in his veins stilled.

“Gotta go,” Rafe said, tight-lipped. “Told the road crew I'd help dig the car out from under the rocks.”

Car accident? Rocks? What the hell?

“I'll call later.” Rafe reached across the seat, yanked the passenger door closed and drove off before Brice found his voice.

“God, Cas. Are you hurt?” Brice gently rubbed a streak of dirt from her face and ran his hands across her shoulders and down her arms. No blood seeped from any obvious cuts or scrapes, and he saw no signs of broken bones. Relief poured over him in a thick, cold sweat.

“I'm fine,” she said with a tight smile. Then her eyes rolled back and her body went limp.

Brice swept her up into his arms. Cradling her to his chest, he did the only thing he knew to do.
“Dad!”

Within seconds, his father appeared at his side. Followed by a flurry of people, including Doc. Sentinels held open the door and cleared a path through the lobby. Gavin led them down the corridor to the family quarters and directed them into the family room.

Cassie shook so badly that Brice didn't want to put her down, so he sat on the couch with her on his lap. “Shh,” he whispered against her head as he rocked. “I've got you.”

He tried to feed calm assurance to her through the mate-bond, but his own panic kept getting in the way.

Doc sat on the edge of the coffee table. “I need to examine her.”

Brice agreed, despite the threatening growl that rose in his throat. Doc slowly drew back his hand.

Gavin gripped Brice's shoulder. “Easy, son. Doc is here to help.”

“Brice?” Cassie's voice sounded so soft and small.

“What, Sunshine?”

“I can't breathe.”

“She needs oxygen,” he yelled. “Her lungs are collapsing!”

“Loosen your grip.” Doc tugged Brice's arm.

“Yes, please.” Cassie nodded against his chest.

Brice unbanded his arms from around Cassie's torso, though he kept a light hold on her waist.

“Better?” Doc asked.

“Yes.” Cassie sat up. “I'm fine.”

“You passed out in the parking lot. That's not
fine
,” Brice said, taking his first easy breath at hearing the stubborn sass return to her voice.

“Since I'm here, how about allowing me to authenticate the ‘fine' diagnosis?” Humor crinkled Doc's eyes behind his thick glasses. He put the stethoscope tips into his ears and tucked the chest piece against her blouse. Next he poked a thermometer into her mouth, checked her blood pressure and inspected the bruises on her neck.

“You're a little dehydrated, and your blood pressure is slightly elevated, probably from all the excitement.” He patted her leg. “Drink a lot of fluids and get plenty of rest.”

Doc packed his medical bag. “I'm headed to the clinic.” He looked at Brice. “If she experiences any vomiting, fainting, shortness of breath, rapid heart rate or anything out of the ordinary, call me and take her straight to the hospital.”

“I will.” Brice's stomach churned. Twice in as many days, he could've lost her. Boarding up the cabin with Cassie and him snug inside seemed like an insanely good idea.

As Doc left, Brice's mother stepped forward with a cold bottle of water.

“Thank you, Mrs. Walker.” Cassie drank nearly half the bottle before she stopped, recapped it and scooted off Brice's lap.

He balled his hands against his jeans-clad thighs to keep from pulling her back.

“How did this happen, Cassie?” Brice's mother joined his father on the love seat.

“My brakes failed and I skidded against the embankment.” Cassie picked at the frayed edges of the scarf in her hands. “A rockslide buried my car.”

Brice's mother gasped, his father cursed beneath his breath and Brice tried to blot out Cassie's words so the images of what could've happened wouldn't ravage his mind.

* * *

“Why didn't you call me?”

Guilt heated Cassie's already flushed skin. She had called Brice, three times. The sound of his voice would've made her feel better. He would've made everything better. Or at least tried to. That's why she'd hung up each time before the first ring. She needed to get through this setback on her own.

“Rafe is a mechanic who owns a tow truck.” She didn't meet Brice's gaze. “You have family and...other obligations. I didn't want to be a bother.”

Brice's strong, gentle hands clasped her face. “I'm never too busy for you. I should be your first call. Always.”

“The car can't be salvaged.” The tightness in Cassie's throat had nothing to do with the bruises on her neck. The burning constriction spread into her chest and threatened to break her in two. She forced her mind off how much she wanted to fling herself into his arms and allow him to take care of everything.

“Forget the damn car, baby. You could've been killed.” The lines in his brow deepened and the color drained from his face. Until now, Cassie had never noticed the faint spider-string scar along the bridge of his nose, curving below the apple of his cheek to fade into the stubble along his jaw.

Of course, he'd never looked so pale and worried. Last night, his face had flushed when she told him about Victoria's attack. He'd been upset but not afraid. Now his eyes held a definite fear that squeezed her heart.

He cared. He actually cared about her.

For how long? A week, a month, maybe two? Then what?

He brushed his mouth across her lips, the barest contact, yet the sizzle penetrated her core with the power to weaken not only her knees but also the stubborn streak in her spine.

She glanced at his parents. Abigail's drawn features and turned-down mouth and Gavin's icy eyes set in a stoic face shored Cassie's resolve not to allow Brice's misguided affection to override her common sense and wreck her dreams.

The loss of her car changed her plans somewhat, but they still did not and could not include Brice.

“I appreciate everyone's concern, but I'd like to clean up before my shift starts.”

“Doc said you needed rest. I'm taking you home.”

“No. I need to work.” Cassie pushed him away. “I've decided to withdraw from my classes for a year. If I save every penny, I should be able to afford a used car by next summer. Then I'll reenroll and finish my last semester.”

Squaring her shoulders, she looked at Brice's mother. “Mrs. Walker, I would appreciate the opportunity to work additional hours. I can cover Natalie's shifts whenever she calls in. I'll even work in housekeeping or the kitchen.”

“No.” Brice glared at his mother before he turned to Cassie. “You will finish the semester and graduate on time. Whether you go on your own volition or bound and gagged makes no difference to me.”

“Then the matter is settled.” A dismissive air swirled amid the audible click of Abigail's heels as she stood with her husband.

“Brice is right, Cassie.” An inscrutable expression darkened Gavin Walker's features. “No work for the next few days, and don't make any rash decisions. When you've rested, you may discover less drastic opportunities.”

After the Walkers left, Cassie cut her eyes at Brice. “You have no say in my choices.”

Brice's dark brows slashed over stormy eyes. “We'll discuss this later.”

He should've had the sense to stop. Oh, no, he had to keep talking.

“Regardless, you will be in class on Monday if I have to hog-tie you and carry you to class.”

“Don't boss me.” Cassie pocketed her hands beneath her arms.

“Here we go,” he muttered.

“I didn't appreciate that eye roll when you were a wolf, and I like it even less now.”

“This morning, you refused to miss one day of class because after the first it would be too easy to skip the next and the next, until you eventually stopped going,” Brice argued.

How dare he use her words against her!

“This is different,” Cassie declared, although the fear he was right gripped her stomach.

“How?”

“I'm not playing hooky. I don't have a car to get to class.”

“I can fix that.” Brice's sincerity would've given a less independent woman pause to consider his offer.

“No!” Accepting his charity would undermine her independence. She had to make it on her own.

“So, you're a quitter.” An unmistakable challenge glittered in his eyes.

“I am not.”

“Glad to hear it, Sunshine. No mate of mine is allowed to quit when things don't go her way.” He cradled the back of her neck, inching his face closer. Closer. Until his mouth hovered over the bow of her lips.

The accident, the aftermath and the arguing left her no strength to turn aside.

Lacking the intensity and urgency of yesterday's kiss, the whisper softness of his mouth was a gentle persuasion that wrapped her in Brice's warmth and comfort. Cassie wanted to curl into him and bask in his strength.

Oh, she was in trouble. So much trouble. Brice had been her first in many things. First crush, first kiss, first to make it to third base. She couldn't allow him to be the first to break her heart. Or her spirit.

He wasn't the type of man to hurt her intentionally. Still, when his life returned to normal, he would realize she wasn't his caliber. His initial reaction of tossing her aside had been the truest. Everything since was nothing more than a fantasy.

Chapter 31

I
have plans for the future and you're not in them.

The absoluteness of Cassie's words on their first night together slashed through Brice's heart to shred the most vulnerable part of his being, mostly because she used the sentiment as a shield to block the mate-bond.

Had he come home too late after all?

Tonight, the buzz inside Taylor's grated Brice's nerves. The music sucked, the food sucked and all the people laughing and having a good time sucked.

He clinked his glass at the bartender.

“Want something stronger than an RC this time?”

Brice shook his head. He didn't want to add to Cassie's agitation by returning home smelling like beer.

Following her accident, he'd taken her to the cabin, hoping some peace and quiet would settle them both. It had the opposite effect. She couldn't relax, her mind fixated on one course of action, and nothing he said steered her away from withdrawing from her classes.

Deep in his soul, he knew quitting now would become a fatal blow to her tightly held dreams. Whether or not he agreed with her plans to leave the Walker's Run Resort for bigger and better opportunities
after graduation
, he desperately wanted her to graduate, on time, because all her hope rode on that singular accomplishment.

His offer to help blew up in his face. Everything escalated from there until he realized Cassie's inability to accept his assistance wasn't a simple matter of pride. Far deeper and darker than he had experience to probe, she held fast to the belief that accepting help from anyone, for any reason, would cripple her ability to stand on her own two feet. She couldn't understand no one became a success in isolation.

Wisely he chose not to argue the point. Since nothing he said or offered to do de-escalated her rising hysteria, Brice simply walked out, climbed into his metallic blue Maserati—delivered this morning, along with all his personal effects from his Atlanta penthouse—and drove like a demon to see Rafe.

“It was bad, Walker,” his friend said when he'd offered Brice a drink before guzzling a half-empty bottle of bourbon. “If Red hadn't climbed out of the car when she did—” Brice's knees still felt weak, and his stomach staggered thinking about it.

Brice cradled his head. The throb in his temples matched the tortuous beat of his heart. Agony spread through his body, amplifying the constant pain in his leg.

“How the hell did you find me, Adam?” His scent preceded the soft squeak of his shoes.

“Your car is hard to miss.” Adam cautiously sat on the stool next to Brice. “If you're able to single out my scent above this crowd, then your nose must be working again.”

Shrugging, Brice raised his glass and downed half of his drink. He didn't feel like talking, and when Adam decided to say his piece, he would.

It didn't take long.

“I shouldn't have kept you from Walker's Run. I failed to understand your connection to this place.”

“I left of my own accord.” Brice bore some responsibility in that misguided venture. “I can't blame you for the years I lost. You didn't steal them. I gave them up without a fight.”

“Only because you trusted me.” Adam reached toward Brice's shoulder, then curled his fingers and dropped his hand. “I was wrong to breach that trust. Our relationship will never be the same, but I want to be a part of your life, Brice.”

“Is that why you fired Victoria and banished her from your territory?”

Adam looked surprised.

“Dad told me.”

“Victoria violated one of our fundamental tenets when she attacked Cassie. I don't want my reputation or my pack tainted by her recklessness.” Adam finger-waved at the bartender. “Sadly, I did have ambitions for you and Victoria as a couple.”

“You've known Victoria since she was a baby. Her parents will be devastated.” Brice rested his right ankle on his left knee and pressed his thumb into the tight calf, rubbing deep, small circles into the muscle to ease the spasm. “Your decision couldn't have been easy.”

“I did what was right for you, my firm and my pack. The Woelfesenat is aware of the incident. Philip saw the marks on Cassie this morning.”

Brice's blood thinned into icy streams. The Woelfesenat had zero tolerance for acts of aggression against humans. Their reactionary responses were swift and often fatal.

Brice's heart seemed to skip every other beat. He was the reason Victoria had attacked Cassie. And if Cassie found out about the severity of wolfan justice, she would be appalled. “I'm not saying Victoria doesn't deserve some form of punishment, but as Victoria's Alpha, you have to convince Philip not to pursue the full extent of the law.”

“Philip isn't rash. He'll come up with a viable solution before her case is formally brought before the council.” Adam laid a hand on Brice's shoulder. “I expect he'll seek your input since you're acting as Cassie's guardian.”

“Our relationship is a bit more complicated.” Rolling up his sleeve, Brice turned his arm so his uncle could see.

“Is that a bite?” Adam fingered the bruise.

The wound would fade soon, although Brice had used his cell phone to take a picture so he could keep the memory close. “Cassie gave it to me. At Walker's Pointe.”

“Does your father know?”

“He knows I've chosen her, and he doesn't approve. Neither does Mom.” Nor Cassie, it seemed, since she was blocking the mate-bond. “He's willing to lift the Christmas ultimatum if I agree to find someone more suitable. God, how many times does he want to screw me over?”

“Gavin loves you, Brice. I made a mistake when I took you from him. He needs you and you need him. More than you'll ever understand.”

“My father wants an heir, Adam. Same as you.” Brice's entire world had been spinning out of control long before the day he stepped into a steel trap. He was so damn sick of being stuck in an endless tornado, tossed here, there and everywhere by people who were supposed to care about him but didn't give a fuck about what they were doing to him.

Brice tested his leg before he stood. “He doesn't need me. No one does.” Including Cassie, who had a daily mantra of reminding him how much she didn't need him.

Maybe it was time to stop stalling and accept the Woelfesenat's offer, after all.