Ruling Fire (Bad Boys Of The Underworld Book 4) (20 page)

“No, Brock. I’m not going to Connecticut with you.”

“The Ranch isn’t in Connecticut. It’s in Montana.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Brock was exceedingly quiet on the long drive from New York to the secluded mountains and fields of Montana. A quiet that Elsie didn’t know was possible. Maybe he had wolf-like powers of concentration. Maybe he was really that angry with her.

But when he’d said he wasn’t opening up to her until she told him about the dreams, the threat he’d made as he’d loaded up her luggage into the back of his SUV, she’d thought it was an empty threat.

Nope. After about an hour of silence, Elsie had drifted off into a thankfully dreamless sleep. When she woke up again, Brock had picked her up some fast food and still wasn’t talking.

Okay, he was still angry. But hour after hour, rest stop after rest stop: all went by without more than a grunt yes or the shake of a head.

If it weren’t for the radio that he let her control without complaint (of course, complaining would imply talking) the entire thirty-hour drive would’ve been in complete silence.

And, except for a few bathroom breaks, he’d driven straight through, which was especially impressive considering he hadn’t slept before they took off on the impromptu road trip.

She had an idea they were getting close when they drove past a sign for “Holt Ranch.” But half an hour later, they were still driving and she didn’t see any sign of a building or home of any type.

“Is this all your land?” she asked. He nodded and she cursed herself for asking a yes-or-no question. She should’ve asked something open-ended to force him to say
something
.

“Must be nice to be a wolf out here.”

“This is a sanctuary for us,” said Brock. The most he’d said to her at once in over a day. “It says Holt Ranch, but it’s not truly mine. It’s everyone’s. There’s no such thing as a homeless werewolf.”

“They do call it a werewolf pack.”

“We used to be packs. The queen united us. Made us all one pack that took care of each other. A pack of thousands. And this is our home. We can leave whenever we want, but we always come back at some point.”

Elsie nodded as she looked out over the landscape. It was mostly flat where they were, but she could see the foothills in the distance, signaling the start of the mountains. It was only three p.m. at the moment, but it was probably gorgeous during sunset. “So you’re talking to me again, I assume.”

“I’m not the one who wasn’t talking.”

“You were the one giving me the silent treatment like a child,” she pointed out.

“I’ve been there for the last two people killed by the queen’s curse. You didn’t think it would be helpful to tell me what was happening?”

It was Elsie’s turn to be quiet. Even though she’d repeated time and time again that she hadn’t wanted to worry him, she realized now exactly how frustrating it was to be protected against your will. Brock, who was so used to having control over all things, would probably be hurt more than most by her omission, no matter what her intentions were.

But he’d just have to get over that. At least if she wanted to spend her last few days in relative happiness.

Elsie shook her head at the strange turn of her thoughts. No. She couldn’t think like that. As if it was only a matter of time before the queen’s curse got her too. That wasn’t the only option. Maybe Rachel would take her out...

But then Cullen would be the alpha king and that wouldn’t be any better.

“So when are we going to get there?”

“Soon. You’ll know it when you see it.”

Well, of course she would. Based off the scenery they’d driven by in the past hour, she figured the Ranch would be the only physical building in view for miles.

But a few minutes later, she saw clearly what Brock meant. The ranch came into view quickly over the flat land, and, when the entire building was visible, Elsie realized it wasn’t really a ranch at all. It was a strange mixture between a compound and a mansion. The white marble stretched up four stories, with beautiful columns decorating the front of the ranch and framing the large picture windows all over the front of the ranch that was visible.

The wolves might like their privacy, but they still enjoyed luxury. The terrifying thing about the ranch was that she recognized it. Even from this vantage point, she’d know those windows anywhere.

“Look familiar?” asked Brock from the driver’s seat.

“You know,” she breathed.

“The nightmares all take place here. If you’d told me about what was happening, I could’ve told you.” He hit the brakes and the SUV came to a gentle stop in the middle of the road. “I can help you fight this, but you have to work with me.”

Elsie nodded even as she continued to stare at the massive structure in front of them. “If you think we can fight this...then okay. I’ll fight it with you. But I don’t want you to get your hopes up.”

“Look at me,” ordered Brock.

Elsie tore her gaze from the home in front of her to look into Brock’s beautiful golden eyes.

“I don’t lay down for fights. I am the alpha and king to my pack and to you. No matter how likely it is that we will lose, no matter what the odds, I will always fight for you. Do you understand?”

She nodded as the tears threatened to break free. Even though she believed every word, she couldn’t stop the next statement from coming out. “But you don’t even like me.”

Brock reached across the console to take her hand in his and gave her a comforting squeeze. “Don’t say stupid things.” He hit the gas and took them the rest of the way to the ranch.

Elsie held onto his hand right up until the moment he parked and needed his right hand to push the gear into park. “So how many people are here normally?” she asked.

“On the entire property, there’s normally around a hundred wolves.”

Her mouth dropped. The building was large. Extremely, obscenely, large. But not big enough to house a hundred people. “Where are they?”

“This plot of land is about a hundred fifty square miles. There are a few cabins and out homes for people to stay.”

“And do you know everyone who’s here at any given time?”

“For the most part. We have a few regulars. A few drifters who only stay for a few weeks or so. It’s pretty much honesty policy here. No rent and if we run low on space, we can always find room for whoever needs it. The pack takes care of its own.”

“Sounds like paradise. Why don’t you stay here more often?”

“Because it’s paradise for everyone but me. I can’t get a moment to myself out here. The problem with living so long is that you keep on accumulating friends. And catching up with those friends takes a hell of a lot of time.”

Elsie let out a laugh. “You have too many friends here? Oh no. What a hardship.”

“Something else you should know about the ranch. This is a safety zone for all wolves.”

“That sounds fine.”

“For
all
wolves. No matter who.”

“Oh.” Realization dawned on her...

“The cabin was protected from Cullen. The only reason he got in was because Dani let him in. Here, he’s more than welcome to move in at any time.”

“He’ll probably be here soon too.”

“You mean once he finds out you’re here?” asked Brock.

“Once Rachel woke up, I’m sure he was halfway out the door.”

“Wait, Rachel? What does she have to do with this?”

Elsie took a deep breath and released it. If Brock wanted full disclosure, she’d have to tell him. “In the nightmare I had last night, I wasn’t alone. Rachel was there. She’s having the nightmares too.”

Brock cursed under his breath and pounded on the steering wheel in frustration. “So she’s after the queen now too?”

“She’s after something. I was kicked out of the dream before I saw how far she got.”

“If she got the queen’s power, I would’ve felt it,” said Brock confidently.

Elsie wasn’t so sure. It wasn’t as though this was something Brock had dealt with before. Everything was new to both of them. Even though she was determined to be more open with Brock, she didn’t tell him the real way the dream ended last time. He already knew Rachel wanted her dead. He didn’t need to know she’d been run through on a sword in her dreams.

“So if we could be in more danger here than back at the cabin, why did you bring me here?” asked Elsie.

“Because this is where the queen lived. And if you have a chance of fighting her, you have to know her.”

“What does that mean?”

Brock looked over to Elsie. “All the queen’s journals are here. You can finally get an idea of who you’re dealing with.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Brock pulled open the unlocked front door to the ranch and held it open for Elsie. He gave it about five seconds before...

“Brock! I didn’t know you were coming out,” shouted the burly bearded man who came out from the east wing hallway to wrap Brock up in an intense bear hug.

Elsie stepped back from the embrace as a smile covered her face. She held a hand over her mouth to hide her amusement, but she wasn’t fooling anyone. Elsie was used to the stiff and formal vampire hierarchy. Where people would bow and curtsy to their elders.

Wolves would play fight. Hell, they’d real fight just for fun. The lines were blurred. At least for him. The number of males who were allowed to walk up to Elsie and pick her up in a bear hug was limited to one: Brock.

Henry let Brock go and turned his grin to Elsie. “Welcome to the Ranch! We’ve all heard a lot about you.”

Damn it, Henry. Not the best thing to say to her.
Depending on who was doing the talking, that could be good or bad.

“I’m really excited to meet everyone,” she said carefully. “Preferably after I’ve showered and changed clothes.”

Elsie would want to get into a fresh set of clothes. They’d been in the car for over a day with barely a chance to stretch their legs.

He handed her bag and the duffel he’d had over his shoulder to Henry. “We drove straight here. Can you take these to my rooms? We need to freshen up.”

Henry winked and Brock really hoped Elsie hadn’t seen the subtle action. “Got it, sir.”

Except there was no escaping the rush of people who’d heard Henry’s boisterous greeting. From their entrance to the walk to their rooms, about twenty to thirty of the resident wolves interrupted them to say hi and introduce themselves to Elsie.

She handled herself well enough, even though Brock knew she was probably frustrated that she wasn’t at her best. But she should know that she was always at her best to him. Maybe her hair wasn’t all perfectly placed and her lips weren’t an unnatural shade of red or pink, but Elsie really didn’t need tight clothes and makeup to be beautiful. It was in the way that she walked. The way she held her head high. The subtle scent of her lavender soap and the purely Elsie scent that he’d grown used to over the years. The scent that made him hard just thinking about it....

He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her away from the small crowd that had formed. “She’ll be back soon. I promise,” he said as he pulled her along.

“Is it like this every time you come here or am I causing a bit of a fuss?” she asked.

“As much as I’d love to give you all the credit, it’s like this every time I come out here for anything. Can’t get a damn thing done without fifteen people who either want to catch up or bring up some issue they want me to solve.”

She let out a laugh. “It’s tough to be the king.”

“You’re telling me.” He took Elsie up a back staircase and through the middle section of the house until they finally reached the far west wing. “These rooms are all mine. Well, ours now. No one else is allowed entry. There’s a master bedroom and bathroom combination, an office and an entertainment room. And a few extra bedrooms that are kept empty for...”

“For kids,” finished Elsie.

Brock stopped and smiled down at her. “Yes. Eventually they’re for kids. For now, they’re for any guests you’d want close at hand. Family maybe.”

She snorted. “No... If my mother ever comes to visit, she can stay way, way over there.” She gestured toward the rest of the house with a hand.

Brock chuckled. “Leaving your own family to the wolves?”

“Please. The wolves would be lucky to survive that woman.” Her brows drew together. “And I’m saying that with love, of course.”

“Of course. Did you want to see our room?”

“The room is probably great. I want to see the shower. I think your pack could smell me two states away.”

“They couldn’t smell you two states away. Besides, with our sense of smell, we’re used to the smell of BO.”

Elsie narrowed her eyes at him. “Not helping, Holt. Shower. Now.”

“I didn’t mean you smell like...” He decided to stop before he dug this hole any deeper. “Fine. Follow me.”

He continued down the hallway past the two doors to the spare rooms before he reached the double doors at the very end and pushed them open for Elsie.

She let out a relieved breath as she stepped past the threshold and looked around. “I was a little scared it was going to be the room from the dream,” she said softly.

“Once the dreams started, that room was closed off. It’s at the other end of the Ranch, if you want to check it out tomorrow. From what I understand, it looks the same as you know it.”

A shiver raced through her. “We’ll see how I feel tomorrow,” she said hesitantly.

Brock clenched his jaw but forced himself to relax. He still couldn’t believe it was true. He’d been so convinced that the curse would pass over Elsie entirely. It had been bad enough when the queen took Delia from him, but she’d known what she’d been getting into. She’d been looking forward to beating the curse and becoming a true queen.

Elsie had no idea what she was getting into when he’d claimed her as his. Hell, now that he’d met Lucian, he was starting to think Elsie would’ve been better off if he’d left her the hell alone.

Except that would mean he wouldn’t have Elsie now, and that was a whole other hell he didn’t want to think about.

“Obviously we can change anything you don’t like.” He studied her, looking for any sign of approval or disapproval as she walked around the room. Like the cabin, there was wood paneling everywhere. But this room had tall ceilings that stretched up about twelve feet tall. A window with bench seating looked out over the large expanse of the property, and built-in shelves framed the bed.

Though the king-size bed took up a considerable amount of room, the space was large enough that there was even room for a decorative chest at the foot of the bed and a loveseat in front of the fireplace.

“I don’t think you need to change anything.” She looked over the books on all the bookshelves. “Except maybe add a picture or two. The cabin room seemed like...yours. This feels more bed-and-breakfast-y. Really expensive bed-and-breakfast-y.”

“Like I said, I don’t make it out this way much. I’m sure we can have a few pictures put up of us.”

Elsie frowned. “There aren’t any pictures of us. How sad is that?”

Brock came up behind Elsie and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her against him and gently kissing her neck. “I’m sure there are dozens of people here who would be more than happy to take our picture.”

“But after I shower, right?”

Brock kissed her once more on the shoulder. “Yes, after you shower.”

Elsie moved from his arms and stripped out of her embroidered shirt and jeans until she was naked in front of him. Every part of Brock wanted to go to her and truly break in the bed, but he held himself back, trying to respect her need to get clean and refreshed.

But Elsie looked over her shoulder and smiled at him. “I need a good ten minutes in there, but if you want to join me after that....”

Brock answered her with a predatory grin.