Coveted (6 page)

Anger bled into my vision, and the wolf inside wanted to smash its fist into the steering wheel. She wanted to tear into the soft fabric of the seats and rip apart the clean material I tried so hard to maintain.

Instead, I opened the door and walked toward the woods beyond the house. I discarded my heeled shoes and headed into the darkness. This was the one place where I didn’t care to wander. Too dirty and too wild, the woods were anything but serene. But in my stressed-out state, I plodded through the brush without caring that it snagged my panty hose and skirt. Tears streamed down my cheeks, but I continued walking and listened to the sounds of the wind whistling through the trees. A gentle breeze brushed against my face and caressed my cheek like a fervent lover.

But my time alone ended when strange sounds alerted me to danger. My nose told me nothing stirred in the forest, just ground squirrels and rabbits. I crouched low and backed toward a clutch of trees. The tall ferns hid my body, but as a lone female I wouldn’t stand a chance if more than one wolf attacked me. How long had it been since I’d defended myself? Or even cared to do so?

Or could the situation be even worse? Had Farley sent a wolf from the cabin to take me out? My fingers dug into the earth. The scent of pungent moss filled my nose. I stooped low and hoped I wouldn’t be found. The cracks of footsteps against branches on the forest floor thundered close. My eyes squeezed tightly shut and I waited for the first blow.

Would my parents come looking for me if I disappeared? They knew that in human form I hated the filthiness of the woods. That was one of the many reasons I didn’t run with the pack anymore.

Suddenly, the birds went silent. I held my breath. Oh, shit. Even the animals in the grove knew I was screwed. Could the attacker hear my heartbeat? Did I sound like a wounded animal baring its neck for slaughter?

Out of the brush, a creature leapt at me and landed a few inches from my face. My mouth gaped, and Thorn’s scent enveloped my senses. Even in human form, with the wolf stirring within his blood, he was a menacing presence.

Golden eyes stared me down. I averted my eyes and grabbed my chest. I’d never expected that it was
him
sneaking up on me. Was he the noise I’d heard upstairs in the cabin, lurking while I pled my case?

I opened my mouth to greet him, but he snarled and closed in behind me. But I didn’t need words. He smelled my fear.

I resembled stone, perfectly unmoving as his nose tickled the back of my neck. Then he lowered and swiveled around to face me. His hot breath blew against my thin shirt. The breath I tried to hold escaped and I leaned forward. Thorn growled deep, and I stiffened immediately.

Don’t move!
He always won this game. Pounce and then retreat. Claim and run.

With one swift movement, he advanced again. His rough hands grasped my upper arms and bit into my skin. My heart thundered in my chest, and I couldn’t resist wetting my dry lips. He pushed his nose against my cheek. The pain from his grasp was nothing compared to the passion melting within me. It had been so long since someone had touched me like this.

The cool air brushed against the line of sweat that formed on my back. Waves of heat from his body assaulted me. My blood boiled as his breathing became ragged. Sharp nails pierced the skin of my arms.

“So tightly—wound.” He descended and nipped at my breasts. I inhaled sharply when he grazed the nipples
that poked out from the flimsy material. The urge to initiate the change grew from my belly and slid up my back.

He leaned in closer and I turned my head to the side. “Lose the clothes,” he growled.

I complied. Part of me didn’t want to do this here. After Thorn had left, the comfort of my home and the grounds around it had allowed me to run free—alone.

But when an alpha male like Thorn spoke, I had to obey. My body contorted and the change enveloped me. I fell over the precipice and surrendered to the wolf chained within. The process of changing into a werewolf isn’t the most beautiful thing. Only the older wolves like my parents and grandmother could meld into the wolf like warm mercury in a vial.

My mother told me the pain of change for a pup is similar to the pain of childbirth. She’d told me that our transformation wasn’t shape-shifting into a new form, but into the body we were meant to be within. Thus the pain from the broken, shifting bones—the contorting limbs—was the punishment for the human to bear. I guess the older wolves had paid their dues. Thankfully, I’ve found that as I’ve grown older, the change has been less painful. But once in a while I still groan when my femur snaps in half like fragile spaghetti.

In my new form, the forest unfolded into millions of scents and sounds. From the rhythmic notes of the blackbirds to the urgent croaks of the frogs. I rolled onto my back and savored the music. After my transformation, I was free from my bonds. The wolf didn’t care about the damp darkness around me. Only the closest interesting smell. Out here there was no such thing as organization, only impulse and carnal cravings. No drug compared to feeling this free.

Thorn circled my body twice before he bit at my heels. Time to move. He set off with a brisk pace away from
the coast—and deeper into the forest. His gray-and-black form darted ahead through the brush.

After a mile he caught the scent of a cottontail. In seconds, we went from a relaxing trot to a full run. My senses were now so sharp I could even hear the rabbit’s heartbeat echoing against my skull. As I gave chase, a trail of clues revealed the animal’s path—from a disturbed branch to tiny footprints left in the soil. All the little details I clung to during the day—the wolf cared nothing for them.

Thorn bounded over a rotten oak and drove another cottontail from its hiding place. I left his side to chase
my
prey. For three minutes, I pursued the rabbit. But I had no desire to end its life tonight—the wolf was more than happy to simply run and hunt.

Of course, that didn’t stop Thorn from returning to my side with his cottontail in his mouth. He deposited the lifeless animal at my feet and circled to lie beside me. Dinner? I hadn’t eaten wild game—or should I say, recently dead game—in years.

The warmth of his body next to mine brought a comfort I didn’t want to let go. For just that moment, hope floated from our private grove into the night sky.

I woke up a few hours later. In the time that I’d slept, Thorn had left my clothes in a haphazard pile beside me. My nakedness didn’t bother me. What did bother me was the bereft feeling of waking alone. I missed those moments in the past when we’d gone out into the woods and run free before making out like horn dogs into the morning. But that was more than five years ago. Baggage sucked.

I was in the middle of throwing on my bra and skirt when Thorn emerged from the trees dressed in his jeans.

“I didn’t expect you to come by the house earlier,” he said.

So he knew what had happened at his father’s house.

I took a deep breath and wiped the dew from my legs.

“With Wendell’s disappearance and the Long Island werewolves coming in and all, I thought it would be a good idea to align myself with the pack. The safest thing to do.” I avoided his eyes, but I knew he was assessing me.

I glanced at him briefly, only to catch him staring at my breasts. He hadn’t changed a bit.

“You know as well as I do that I would protect you.”

“I’m an outsider. I don’t see that happening.”

“You know that’s not true.” He took a step forward and placed his hands in the pockets of his jeans. “I thought I’d have more time to prepare …”

I licked my dry lips. “What did you find out at Wendell’s place?”

“Nothing you need to worry about.”

“Don’t give me that bullshit, Thorn. What happened to his girlfriend?”

A lone muscle in his neck twitched. He gave no other sign that the worst news was yet to come. “We found a trail not far from the house as well as four sets of footprints. They dragged two people out of the house and their trail ended at the edge of the forest.”

I opened my mouth to press him further, but he spoke before I could. “We found her blood on the ground along with a piece of her shirt. Other than that, we don’t know if they’re dead or alive.”

“Who’s the tracker?” I wondered if one of the Stravinskys had been asked.

“Rex’s on it now.”

The forest around us was quiet, a little too quiet for my current mood. Thorn sat down beside me. He scooted close enough for heat to rise between our bodies—yet far enough away that we didn’t touch. Those lips beckoned me to kiss them. And the wolf in me begged for release.

“I asked my father in your stead to allow you entry,” Thorn said.

I laughed. “I’m sure he told you no as well.”

“That he did.”

I swallowed deeply. “It doesn’t matter anyway.”

“It does to me. I told him that I’d refuse to become alpha if he didn’t let you in.”

“You did what?” I prepared to stand, but his arm snaked out and held me down beside him. He released me, but his hand paused as if he wanted to touch me again.

“Somehow, someway, you will become part of the pack again, Natalya.”

“He evidently doesn’t think I’m fit to be a part of it.”

“Well, I do.” He sighed. “I escape this place to start a new life, only to come back to a falling house of cards. But the one thing I didn’t expect to find here was you.”

He didn’t speak for a few minutes. “When I left San Diego, I returned home and found mountains of responsibility. Much more than one person should bear.” He shook his head. “Seeing your future laid out in front of you gets old.”

Curious now that he’d finally opened up, I asked, “What did you do?”

“I used my business degree to work as a manager in a tech company.” He shrugged. “Shirt-and-tie kind of thing while rotting away in a cubicle.”

“Must’ve been nice since you wanted to leave here so bad.” And leave me behind.

“Sunshine and oceanfront property is nice and all, but there’s nothing like the northeast.” He gazed out into the trees. “Do you remember our first time together out in the forest?”

“Yes.” I thought of it every time I hunted with him.

He laughed at the memory and leaned in to brush his
fingers against my knee. “I have no idea how you survived that first semester without hunting.”

“Well, sightings of large wolves roaming the campus wouldn’t have exactly helped with student and faculty recruitment.”

“True, but you’re not a human. You’re a werewolf.”

The memories of enjoying my freedom with him filled my senses. Thorn had taken a fellow South Toms River gal and whisked her away into a state park north of Pittsburgh. During spring break, while other college kids enjoyed the beaches, we hunted, we slept, and—for the first time—I made love with someone. Not just sex, but all-consuming, back-bending, good-God-where-did-that-fifth-orgasm-come-from sex. I sucked in a deep breath at the thought. How easily he triggered the hungry wolf within me.

“We had a few good years,” I said. “But college is about transitioning into adulthood. A job. A new place to live.” I hoped my words had strength behind them.

“I still shouldn’t have left. I chickened out. Not only did I leave behind all those things my dad wanted for me, but I left you behind as well.”

In the weeks after he’d left, I’d wondered what my answer would’ve been if he’d asked me to go with him. Would I have willingly left my family? The life I’d made in New York City?

He continued. “Now I have to protect the pack. And we both know Will isn’t ready to assume leadership. Not only do I have to worry about everyone, but my father is making long-term plans for the Granthams to join with the Holdens. A power merger with a marriage.” He rubbed his eyes as if the burdens of the pack weighed him down.

So that was it. He’d made a deal. Someday he might mate with Erica and I’d be left alone again. How did I
get myself into such a mess? Did he even know I still wanted him?

His fingers twitched near my thigh—so close, yet so far away. “Don’t worry. We’ll think of something. This isn’t over yet.”

Every word Farley had said echoed through my head, but Thorn’s lingered too.

I had a chance. And I refused to go down without a fight. Broken or not, I had the drive to succeed—and soon enough I would rejoin the pack.

D
on’t
you have a Greyhound bus you need to catch to head west?” I asked Aggie. For the third time, I sorted through a box of Hanukkah items. Not the average after-work activity.

“I can’t leave my good friend with the threat of an attack looming.” Aggie used a poker to stir the fire before she made another s’more.

I huffed. “An attack isn’t coming yet. Thorn told me he reinforced the patrols in the area. And anyway, we both know you wouldn’t stay here to hang out while a pack of angry werewolves breaks into my house.”

“Well, by that point I’ll have the bus ticket, and I can go wait at the bus station while they burn your cottage down. I may even be nice and help you haul out your boxes.”

My mouth gaped and then I laughed. “You’d better not run away from them. Come here. I need backup to protect my little friends.”

“Your little friends? Do you have an ornament vibrator in there? Now that would give me a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.”

I threw a graham cracker at her head. “I’m not that kind of girl.”

She snorted. “I sure am.” Somehow she stuffed an entire s’more into her mouth.

“That’s your third one. Aren’t you full?”

For a moment, a guilty look flashed over her face. “Not really. Did you want one?”

How did she maintain her figure? It had to be her werewolf genes. “No, thanks. But we do need to make a trip to the store.”

“You’re storing enough food here for the next apocalypse. The deep freezer downstairs could hold a dead body.”

“Maybe I should take your measurements for it.” I stood and placed the ornaments back in their box. “I want to pick up a few cleaning supplies.”