Defying Destiny (34 page)

warning. Her back arched and she gasped,

somewhere between pleasure and pain.

“Look at me,” he demanded. His fingers

tangled in the strands of her hair and

forced her head back. “Maralee.”

She forced her eyes open.

“Do you really accept me for what I

am?” he asked her.

“Yes.”

“You don’t think I’m a monster?”

“Of course not.”

He began to move within her and her

eyes drifted closed. He tugged on her hair,

not enough to hurt, but it did grab her

attention. Her eyes flipped open.

“I want you to look at me, Maralee. I

have to be certain that you know who I

am.”

“Of course I know who you are,” she

said. “What do I have to do to prove to

you that I accept you?”

“Just look at me.”

“It’s hard to keep my eyes open, but

I’ll try.”

“That’s all I want,” he said. They

stared at each other as their bodies

writhed together. Their tempo was

frenzied, their movements harsh, as if they

needed to leave a lasting impression on

each other’s body. Her fingernails dug

into his back and he gasped in pain, but he

liked it. He wanted the pain. It made her

more real. He needed her and the madness

they shared to be real.

His eyes drifted closed as he

approached the culmination of their

joining. When he gasped and his mouth

fell open in wonder, the look on his face

was enough to send her tumbling over the

edge after him. He collapsed on top of her

and she hugged him close.

“I love you, Nash.”

“Yes,” he gasped, still shuddering

with the aftereffects of their lovemaking.

They lay there for some time, their bodies

still joined, their pulse and breathing rate

returning slowly to normal.

“I’m sorry for being rough with you,”

he whispered. “Did I hurt you?”

“No. It was…exciting.”

He chuckled. “I don’t think I’ll ever

understand you.”

“Do you trust me now?”

“I don’t know. We might have to do

that a few more times before I can be

sure.” When he lifted his head to look

down at her, he was grinning.

“Sir,” she said, “I do believe I am

being manipulated.”

He laughed and kissed her. “When we

leave here, I will tell you everything.”

She smiled. “Will we return to your

cabin, or stay in the inn?”

“Would you like to come home with

me? I wasn’t sure that you’d want to, after

what my mother did to you,” he said,

stroking her hair from her flushed cheeks.

“Well, she was out of control under

the full moon, so it wasn’t really her fault,

after all.”

He lowered his gaze. “I suppose.”

He looked too guilty not to be hiding

something.

“That isn’t what happened, is it? I

thought you were going to start being

honest with me.”

He lifted his eyes to hers again. “She

really wanted you dead, Maralee, even

after I broke the effects of the curse on

her. She wanted revenge for Cort.”

Maralee was the one to look away. “I

see,” she murmured. “I guess I’d want me

dead, too.”

“It’s not only because of Cort,

Maralee. My mother has always abhorred

humans, more so than any other person I

know.”

“So I guess that means she won’t be

overjoyed that her other son has taken a

human as a lover.”

“Wife.”

“Wife?” she blurted.

“If you’ll agree to stay with me

always.”

There was a knock at the door and

both of them started. Nash moved from his

position on top of her before taking his

Wolf form. Maralee was just able to

cover herself with her rumpled blankets

before Jared opened the door.

“Are you hungry?” the doctor asked,

carrying a tray of food. “Mrs. Smithy just

brought us both some breakfast.”

Nash growled irritably.

“Do you need to go outside, boy?”

Jared asked Nash in an aren’t-you-a-good-

doggie voice. “Come on. I’ll let you out.”

Nash made a sound of impatience, but

jumped off the bed and left the room. He

followed Jared outside to do his business,

as a good dog should. This gave Maralee

the opportunity to make herself more

presentable. If Jared realized the scope of

her relationship with her “dog” then he

was sure to have her committed. Maybe

she was crazy for loving a Wolf, but it

wasn’t anything she could help.

Maralee followed Nash through the forest,

idly chatting about the different cities and

villages she had visited on her travels.

Nash was still in his Wolf form. She

wasn’t sure he was paying attention to her.

He kept pausing on the indiscernible trail

and glancing around warily, sometimes

lowering his head to sniff the ground,

sometimes perking his ears to take in

unusual sounds.

When they reached the outskirts of the

village, Nash paused. His body was rigid

with

tension

and

Maralee

didn’t

understand why, until she noticed the

crowd of people between the nearby

cabins and trees. Her first thoughts were

they had gathered to offer her their

welcome, and accepted her as she

accepted them.

“First, you desert us on the night of the

full moon, and then you bring
her
here,”

someone called to Nash from the crowd.

Nash moved forward, continuing

towards his cabin as if he couldn’t hear

his words. Maralee picked up her pace to

keep in step with him, her heart

hammering with apprehension. Perhaps

they’d come to kill her, rather than

welcome her, after all.

“You even put the children in danger

by trusting a Hunter. She could have killed

us all just as easily as she killed your

brother. Or have you already forgotten

about Cort?”

Nash growled angrily, pausing to glare

at the young man who had spoken.

“No, I won’t watch what I say,” the

young man countered. “If it’s a fight you

want, then we’ll give it to you.” He

looked around at other young males in the

crowd.

Nash did not back down even when

they began to shed their clothes and take

their Wolf forms. He lowered his head

and growled menacingly, his nose

rumpled, teeth barred, hackles raised.

Maralee glanced around nervously as a

dozen or so young males circled them,

growling and snarling. She expected them

to attack her, but they never even glanced

her way. Horrified, she watched them

lunge towards Nash. He threw off one of

the Wolves only to be attacked by three

more.

“No!” Maralee cried.

She flung herself into the middle of the

melee, trying desperately to reach Nash.

She had to protect him. She wasn’t sure

what she could do, but she couldn’t stand

by and watch. She managed to get a

handful of his fur before a set of strong

jaws clamped around her arm, gave her a

vicious shake and tossed her aside. She

struggled to her knees, ready to throw

herself back into the foray when someone

captured her by the shoulders from behind.

“Stay out of this. They will injure him

more severely if you try to interfere. Nash

knew this was coming,” Rella said. “Let

him fight. Allow him to keep his dignity.”

Maralee glanced up at the woman

holding her back. “His dignity? What good

is his dignity if he loses his life?”

Rella chuckled. Maralee bristled.

“Silly girl,” the lovely wolf woman

murmured. “He’s immortal and you are far

from it. He may wish he was dead when

this is all over, but he will not die, unless

someone slips him some silver amid the

chaos.”

Nash’s yelp of pain tore at Maralee’s

heart. If Rella hadn’t been holding her by

both

shoulders,

she

would

have

undoubtedly tried to help him in some

way.

“Mama! Make them stop!” Carsha

cried. “They’re hurting him.”

Rella released Maralee’s shoulders to

draw Carsha near. “Go into the house,”

she said to her daughter. “You shouldn’t

watch this.”

“Uncle Nash!”

Nash’s blood littered the melting

snow, but no matter how many times they

knocked him down, he somehow managed

to get back to his feet.

“I think he means to win this thing,”

Rella said, sounding surprised. “Just what

is he trying to prove?”

“I’ll leave,” Maralee whispered.

“This is my fault. If I go then…”

“You really don’t understand Wolves

at all,” Rella said. “By all means, leave. It

will make the risks he took and his fight

for nothing.”

“I can’t stand this!”

The pack regrouped, rushing forward

for another attack. This one was less

intense. The pack was tiring and seemed

less eager to fight. Nash wobbled as

several Wolves careened into him, but he

did not fall. Several Wolves were lying

on their sides in the melting snow,

breathing hard—alive but defeated.

Nash paused, lifted his snout to the

sky, and howled. The frenzied Wolves

stopped in mid-motion to stare at him. He

howled again. Maralee watched his

attackers sit on their haunches in the snow

and howl along with him.

Rella chuckled, an appreciative smile

on her lips. “He always was a smart one,”

she murmured. “Come, Carsha. This fight

is over.”

The girl looked up at her mother,

smiling. “I want to help Uncle Nash, too,”

she said breathlessly, her amber eyes

alight with hope.

“Wait!” Maralee said. “What just

happened?”

“Have Nash explain things to you,”

Rella said. “You can thank me for saving

your life later.”

Maralee realized the truth of her claim

at once. “Why did you?” Maralee asked.

“Don’t you hate me?”

“Of course I hate you,” Rella agreed,

“but I love Nash and you make him happy

for some unknown reason. That’s all I

want for him. That’s what Cort would

have wanted.”

Maralee was too stunned to respond.

Rella
loved
Nash? Maralee watched the

woman walk away. She disappeared into

her cabin with Carsha and two handsome

young boys with stark white hair. Others

began to leave the area as well, venturing

deeper into the forest to their own cabins.

Maralee turned to look at Nash who was

still howling with his chorus of attackers.

He nodded towards his cabin. She skirted

around the trees to his cabin and climbed

up on the porch. He spoke to his people in

his Wolf language for several moments

before joining Maralee on the porch. One

by one, the young male Wolves found their

discarded clothing and disappeared into

the trees. Nash watched them, breathing

hard, but seeming surprisingly well.

“Are you all right?” Maralee asked

when they were alone.

He glanced at her before rising to his

feet and trotting over to his front door. He

paused, nose on the doorknob and waited.

Maralee rushed forward to open it for

him. He went inside. She followed after

him, surprised when he collapsed just

inside the door.

“Nash!” she cried, dropping down to

her knees beside him and touching the fur

of his face.

He melted into his human form. “I’ll

be fine,” he said, touching her hand, which

was resting on his cheek. “I’m just utterly

exhausted.”

“And covered with wounds!” she said,

noticing the deep puncture marks that

peppered his body.

“It’s not so bad. Not one of them lost

their temper and did any permanent

damage,” he said. “I’m just not as young

as I used to be.”

“You can’t be more than twenty-eight

or twenty-nine,” she said with a smile.

He stared at her for a long moment and

then sighed. “I’m a hundred and twelve.”

Her eyes widened and then she smiled

at his obvious jest. “Don’t tease me,” she