Den and Breakfast: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Honeycomb Falls Book 1) (12 page)

I cross my arms and raise my chin. Focus on my breathing, making sure it's nice and slow. I will
not
be intimidated. I will
not
be scared in my own home.

A man walks in through the front gate, and my heart sinks.
Oh shit
. He looks like some bloody god of divine hotness. Even from here I can see the feverish gleam in his eyes. The kind of eyes that look for things to burn, just for the pleasure of watching things be destroyed. Pure black like a bird's. He's stark naked, looking like some insane underwear model, streaked in mud and - is that blood? His hair is a wild mane, falling past his shoulders, and the way he moves is like water pouring between rocks, a sinuous, fluid motion that makes it hard for me to focus.

I blink, and realize a wolf has been stalking me from the left, a huge, white-furred monster with ice blue eyes. It's creeping along the edge of the house, almost on its belly, ears flat against its huge skull. I gulp and look to the right and see a warformed werewolf approaching through the trees. Its pelt is covered in crude tattoos and scars, a hulking, terrifying monster right out of the worst fairy tales.

Oh god.
Oh god.
I look at the man as he walks up the gravel pathway. Every instinct is telling me to run. Just turn around and slam the door closed. Are we supposed to host these creatures for the night? Are we supposed to serve them breakfast? I almost laugh hysterically. They're going to destroy Honeycomb Hall. Kill us all.

I take a deep breath.
If you run, you're dead.
The voice in my mind is cold and confident.
Face them down.

I step forward and place my hands on my hips. "Welcome to Honeycomb Hall, former home of the grand witch Mama B, and now my residence." I try to project boldness, but if anything my fear makes me sound angry. "I am Rachel Wilder, her granddaughter."

The warformed shifter leaves the trees and steps into the afternoon sunlight, moving up toward my Mustang. The white wolf leaps up soundlessly onto the wraparound porch to my left. I see three more wolves appear in the gate, following the naked man, who stops and places his hands on his hips, grinning up at me. His teeth are filed to points. Oh god. Like some goddamned cannibal.

"Wilder, eh?" His voice is rich and deep, but tinted with an unnerving sense of laughter. "You a witch too?"

"I am. I have all my grandmother's power."
Ignore the wolf creeping up on you to the left
.

The man purses his lips thoughtfully and nods. "Then why are you running a hotel? If you're so powerful, why are you acting like a servant?"

I gulp. His eyes are bright and mocking. How to explain the pleasure of the hospitality industry to this barbarian? "You wouldn't understand. While you're here, I'd ask you to follow my rules - "

I pause at the sound of wrenching metal. I almost jump and look over at the warformed shifter, who has just pried the driver's door off the Mustang. My eyes go as wide as dinner plates. It's literally torn the door off, and as I watch it tosses the door aside.

"You were saying?" The naked man - their alpha? - is very serious. "Something about your rules?"

"Yes." I feel like I'm drowning. The huge white wolf reaches me. It smells of wet fur and earth, of old blood and something sour. It circles behind me, growling softly under its breath. I fight to ignore it. I point my finger at the naked man. "If you break them, you'll regret it."

"I'm sure." The man rolls his head around on his neck, causing a series of loud pops to sound. "Thank you for your hospitality."

The white wolf suddenly snarls and bites at my dress, grabbing a mouthful of fabric and wrenching its head away, tearing the dress open. I scream and stagger, but the wolf doesn't attack again. I catch myself on the railing. My dress is open to the hip along my left leg, showing my thigh. No blood, though.

Their alpha laughs. The warformed wolf is climbing into my Mustang, gouging the leather seats as it scents along the inside of the car. The white wolf is growling again, eyes alight with hunger.

Oh god. Get it together!
"Now listen up!" I snap with all the attitude I can muster. "Get your wolves under control before I curse you all! I'll make it so that your fur turns to maggots whenever you shift!"

There's a moment's calculation in their alpha's eye. The white wolf stops snarling and goes still. I stand there, chest heaving, eyes blazing. The silence draws out. The other three wolves reach their alpha's side and sit. I lock eyes with the man and glare at him. Our eyes lock, and I realize I've kicked off a stare-down. The same thing that happened between Maric and Blake. He's measuring me. Searching my soul. Trying to determine the truth behind my words. I draw myself up and give him everything I've got.

But it's not enough. He laughs and looks to his wolves. "She's lying. Tear this place apart. But nobody touch her. She's mine."

"Touch her," says Blake, "And I'll destroy you."

We all turn toward the gate. Blake stands there, five wolves behind him, looking amazing and hot and wonderful. My knees go weak. Relief floods through me.

The Blood Moon alpha turns to regard Blake, eyes narrowed. "If it isn't the Hidden Moon pack. You really think you can stop us?"

Blake begins to walk forward. That's when I see the injury in his neck. How his left leg is limping. He's been hurt. Still, his face is brave and his eyes are clear.

"Yes," he says simply.

"Ha!" The Blood Moon alpha shakes his head. "We will destroy you. Then we will enjoy this building and the women here. Blood Moon, let's enjoy ourselves."

The white wolf snarls like tearing leather and bunches down to leap at me. I stare, frozen in fear, and just before it launches Hui steps out of the front door and brings the mop head whistling down through the air to crack it in the skull.

The wolf stops, not hurt, and turns to snarl at her. This is where I should blast it with magic. This is where I should save Hui, Anita and the Hidden Moon pack from fighting and dying to protect me. This is the moment where I should save Honeycomb Hall and teach these Blood Moon wolves to fear me.

But I don't have magic. I'm not a witch. It was all a lie. Now I'm going to have to stand here and see my home destroyed and my friends get hurt or worse.

I'm going to fail. I'm going to lose everything I hoped to achieve.

The white wolf leaps up onto Hui, who yells in terror as it drives her down to the ground, forepaws on her shoulders. The warformed shifter emerges from the Mustang, scarfing down my leftover lunch from yesterday, and turns to glare at Blake. The three wolves are running toward the Hidden Moon pack, the naked man right behind them. Even if Blake manages to defeat them, hurt as he is, he's going to lose friends. Packmates. There is going to be so much blood.

You have the power
, a new voice says in my mind. Mama B's voice.
You're a Wilder. You have the talent. Accept it. Accept your heritage.

Time seems to slow down. I feel a door in the back of my mind shake and shiver as if a great beast were trying to break through. It's a door I've always kept locked and barred. One I've never wanted to open. I stare the naked man in his black eyes, and all I see in there is madness and fire, pain and death.

OK
, I say to Mama B.
OK. I accept who I am. I'm a witch. I have that power
.

The door in my mind bursts open. I feel a flash of power, and I could swear that thunder rumbles overhead, dark and ominous, despite the clear blue sky. Everybody stops and looks up. Out of nowhere, storm clouds have rolled in, black and heavy, faster than is naturally possible. The naked man frowns and looks over his shoulder at me. I'm breathing fast, my body afire with power. I don't know what I want to do. I don't know how to do it. I just raise my trembling hand, and point at the Blood Moon alpha.

There's a flash of silver light as a lightning bolt cracks down out of the sky and blasts a hole in the ground right next to him, sending gravel, dirt and rocks flying. The thunderclap that follows is deafening.

Their alpha falls to the ground, and his three wolves are knocked onto their backs. The white wolf leaps sideways off Hui, and the warformed werewolf drops my lunch and gapes at the blackened crater in the driveway.

"Enough!" My voice is majestic. "The next bolt will fall on your head." I walk down off the steps to stand over the fallen alpha. "And believe me, nothing would give me greater pleasure than to blow you apart."

The alpha's black eyes are huge in surprise and shock.

"But. You are my guests. Now you will behave or I will tear you apart. Am I clear?"

Everybody is staring at me. Blake's eyes are wide with admiration. The alpha licks his lips, then nods. He scrabbles to his feet and nods again.

"Yes, Ms. Wilder," he says meekly. "Our apologies. We were... just joking around."

"Well, no more jokes." I glare at him. "Everybody in human form. Then you're all going to shower and get dressed." I rake them all with my gaze. The other five werewolves all shift into human form, turning out to be abashed-looking dirty men and women. "Tea is going to be served exactly at five p.m. I will be
very
upset if you're late."

"Yes, ma'am," says the alpha, voice still shaking as he looks at the crater. "Five p.m."

"On the fucking dot." I almost growl like a wolf. "Got it?"

He nods. "Yes. Absolutely."

"Good. Now. Hui. Show our guests to the bathrooms. They need to wash up."

Hui climbs to her feet and dusts off her uniform. "Yes, Ms. Wilder. This way."

The Blood Moon packs shuffles into the house, giving me a wide berth.

I'm trembling. I can't believe what just happened. I hear them going upstairs, Hui giving them commands as if she hadn't nearly died. I turn to Blake, wanting nothing more than to fall into his arms, to kiss him, to hold him close and never let him go.

But before he can reach me, Maric appears, holding my staff. He steps into view from behind a tree, and points the staff at us. He's shaking like a leaf, eyes wide as he stares at me. "I - I accidentally took this. Your staff. I - I'm sorry. Ms. Wilder. I came back. To return it."

The entire Hidden Moon pack growls, and Maric takes a hasty step back.

I walk down onto the driveway and approach him. He's in bad shape. He smells of alcohol and looks hung over. "You came to give it back?"

He nods eagerly.

"Not to try and use the staff against Blake and force him to step down from being alpha?"

Maric's eyes go wide. Then he laughs. "Maybe? But the staff won't work for me. I can't get it to do anything. Now I understand. It was just a prop all along, wasn't it? The real power came from you."

I reach out and take the staff from his unresisting hand. I don't contradict him.

Hello, Ms. Wilder.
Simon Two's voice is almost comical in its relief.
Thank goodness. I was about to do something hasty to that oaf holding me.

"Hello, Simon," I say, smiling and not caring if people think I'm mad. "Did he try to get you to do anything particularly awful?"

Oh, yes. All kinds of ridiculous requests. Fortunately he has no magical talent whatsoever. I could ignore him with impunity.

"Good. Thank you, Maric, for returning my staff."

"You're welcome." He shifts his weight and edges back. "I'll be going now?"

Blake steps up next to me. It feels so good to have him by my side. Tall and powerful and stern. "If we see you again, Maric, we will tear out your throat. Leave this area, and never, ever return. Understood?"

Maric nods gratefully, and shifts into his wolf form. He bounds down the driveway and disappears.

I can't hold back any longer. I slide into Blake's arms and pull him close. Our lips meet and we kiss hungrily, our tongues dancing like flames over each other. He winces, then laughs, and I pull back. "Are you OK?"

"Yes." His voice is husky and low, and his eyes smolder as he looks down at me. "I'm sorry I was almost too late. I came as soon as I could."

I touch his neck. It looks mostly healed, but is still an angry red and scabbed. "What happened? This looks awful."

"Later." His smile is roguish and devastatingly handsome. I feel a pulse of heat run through my body right down to my pussy. "First you're going to tell me when you developed magic powers all your own."

"Later," I say, laughing. I curl my fingers in his. I can't explain how good it feels to have him by my side, a powerful man who loves me for who I am, who stares at me as if I were a goddess, who obviously wants to get me all alone so he can show me just how much he missed me.

"Come meet my pack." He raises my fingers to his lips. "I've already told them all about you."

"Blake," I say, pulling him back to me. "I will. I can't wait to meet them. But first I just want to say how happy I am that you came back. That you tried to help me."

His smile fades away, leaving him serious and intense. His gold eyes burn down into mine, and he runs his thumb along my jaw. "I will never leave you again." His voice is raw, sincere beyond measure. "It nearly tore me in two to leave you last night. You're the most beautiful, sexy, wonderful woman I've ever met. My wolf howls for you. I crave you. I'm back, and I'm not leaving your side again."

I can't help but smile so wide I feel almost foolish. My eyes fill with tears and when he leans down to kiss me, I thrill at his words. His lips are gentle, his kiss soft, and I melt into his arms like butter in a hot pan. Melt into his strong body, losing myself in his touch, his delicious scent, his powerful arms.

There's a polite cough, and I turn to see Anita standing close by, clearly needing to ask questions. Blake's pack stands on the other side, looking happy and amused at our affection. From inside the house I hear Hui's voice rise in admonishment, then a
thwap
, then a sudden whine like a wolf running behind the bed with its tail between its legs.

"Looks like we've got a lot of work to do," says Blake.