Wolf's Promise (Caedmon Wolves) (8 page)

They were being chased.

“We have to keep going,” he urged. “We’ll need to make it across the main highway.”

He helped her up and looped her arm across the top of his back. She limped a couple feet, biting into her lips. The pain was unbearable and she couldn’t bring herself to apply pressure
to her right leg which must have
taken the brunt of the fall.

“I can’t.” Selene stopped. “Go without me.”

“No,” he said, angrily.

“One of us should go for help.”

“I’m not leaving you.” He bent and scooped her up in arms, and began half-walking half-running.

She pushed against his chest. “There is no way you will escape them while carrying me.”

He ignored her.

“Nick, put me down, and go get help.”

“I won’t do that.”

There was
an animal growl and rustling behind them
. She turned her head in the direction the sound, but only saw dusk settling in behind them. “Nick…?” she said, slowly.

He must have sensed it too, because he slowed his pacing and turned around. His grip became tighter around her. “Whatever you see tonight, Selene, just know that I will never ever hurt you.”

Why was he telling her that? Selene tightened her hold on him as well. She might have urged him to leave her only moments early, but the sad fact was that she needed him. She didn’t want to be left alone.

A large black wolf came out into the clearing with fangs barred and ears drawn to the back of the head. It circled them slowly, the yellow eyes piercing them like daggers.

Damn it! Not only were they being chased by some small town lunatics, they wer
e also being cornered by a wild
wolf.

Another wolf emerged from the shadows. This one’s fur was deep brown, but the eyes were the same—yellow and menacing.

“Nick,” she whispered, her voice shaking in morbid fear.

The black wolf bucked and snarled, spittle dripping from its muzzle on the ground.

Nick’s gripped loosened on her at the moment, and she wound her arm around his neck seeking his protection.

“I won’t let anything
bad happen to you. I promise,
” he whispered, just as he turned her loose and made her stand to the ground behind him. “Stand back.”

The two wolves looked hungry and ready to kill. They encircled them like vultures scouting around an injured animal.
Injured.
Oh, no. She looked down at the blood on her knee. The animals must have been drawn to it.

She fell back slowly, eyes on the threat before her.
F
right overcame her more than the pain in her knee.

Nick immediately took a fighter’s stance, prowling
like a predator similar to his opponents.
It occurred to her that he had not an ounce of terror in him.

The black
wolf
lunged at Nick, snapping its massive jaws. Nick sprung back, but not before the wolf captured his boot by its fangs.

Her back hit the trunk of a tree, as her eyes shifted on the spar before her.

Nick wrestled the wolf to the ground, taking the oversized head between his hands. Was he insane? What human would wrestle with a rapid wolf and not be fearful of being bitten?

It was clear that the wolf was gaining the upper hand as it took Nick’s arm in its mouth. Her stomach churned at the first site of blood at the corner of the wolf’s mouth.

Nick jumped up from the grown, flinging the wolf off his arm and it slid across the dirt until it came within a few centimeters of hitting an adjacent tree.
It got back up and charged at Nick, eating up the distance between them rapidly.

A burst of white light erupted where Nick once stood.

Her breath caught in her throat when she glimpsed a wolf in his place. It was just as massive as the other two. There was sort of a majestic beauty to its sleek muscular form. The
fur was a chocolate brown with hints of white throughout.

She shook her head, and dug her nails into the bark of the tree.

When the two wolves collided, the blow seemed to vibrate the ground where
they all stood. Her gaze shifted frantically from left to right as she tried to focus on the fight. From her days of volunteering at an animal shelter, she wasn’t a stranger to two wild animals fighting. But this was pure insanity…

Only moments ago, Nick had not been an animal.

And she was pretty damn sure that his body had f
lashed into wolf as if by magic right before her eyes.

What the fuck?

Had they drugged her?

The second brown wolf stood on the other side, growling and barking, as though waiting his turn to join in. She hoped that he stayed on his side of the field. If someone had told her she’d die from being mauled by a wolf, she might have laughed in their face. Now, the possibility wasn’t that far-fetched.

She should have taken off a long time ago, but her feet were planted to the ground.

The black wolf yelped. Her gaze focused just in time to see Nick’s wolf as he pinned his opponent and ripped a chunk of flesh from the neck.

Selene doubled over and dry heaved. Whatever sense she did not have earlier, she gained it back at that moment. Her feet began to move.

She walked. Stumbled. Then ran
.

She did not want to die. Not tonight. Not like this.

At this point, it didn’t seem to make a difference where she ran. She just wanted to get away from the
blood thirsty
wolves. She only prayed that her legs would lead her to a safe place.

***

Nick flashed
back into his human form when
he caught scent of Selene again.

He couldn’t believe he’d given himself away like that, but it had to be done. He could never have beaten a Caedmon wolf while in human form. The only options back there were to either reveal himself or be defeated. Being defeating meant allowing Selene to be captured agai
n. He couldn’t let that happen.

He’d have gladly faced Darius again. He yearned to do just that—to defeat him. But Selene needed his help a whole lot more than he wanted to kill that bastard.

Nick scented her
sweet fragrance
before he heard her. And he heard her
muffled cries
before he saw her. She was h
uddled against a tree under
thick overhanging branches.
Her arms were wrapped around
her torso, as though
she were consoling herself. He wanted to be the one to comfort her and erase the bad memories that she would undoubtedly gain from this.

“Selene—”

Her
scream of shock cut through
the atmosphere and lingered on the strong night winds.
She stum
bled several feet away from him, and held up her palm.
“Mantente alejado
!
”

He
didn’t need to be fluent in her native language to know she wanted him to stay away.
“
I won’t hurt you.”

Her eyes widened. “You’re an animal!”

It was the truth, and she seemed repulsed by it.

His gaze dropped to the ground, and for the second time in his life he was ashamed
of what he was
. “Yes. Yes I am.”

“How could this be
happening? I feel like I’m in some kind of bad dream.”

What h
e didn’t want to
do was
f
righten her again, so he made no
a
ttempt
s
to move any closer
. “Even bad dreams come to an end.”

She lifted her gaze to study him. “What are you?”

He swallowed
. “I’m wolf…and man.”

“You’re kidding.” She
laughed nervous
ly. “Right?
”

“I’m afraid not.”

“Then you’re really serious…”

“Selene, we’ve got to move. Others will com
e looking after what they discover
.”

“The other wolf back there…what did you do to it?”

“I think you know.” He did not take threats to his life lightly. “They would have killed both of us.”

“How do you know that?” Her voice rattled with anger.

“Look, Selene, I’ll tell you about all of this—
any of this—
but right now
,
we need to leave this area.”

“How do I
know you won’t turn on me
?”

“You’re not really afraid of me,” he said, and inched forward toward her. “You’re afraid of what you saw. I understand
that
.”

“
Stop right there!
”

“
They had no plans to let you go. You had already seen too much.
Those things had to happen in order to save you.”

“No.” She clenched her fists
. “Don’t blame this on me.”

“You misunderstood
me,”
he whispered, moving a little closer. “I did what I had to save you, but n
one of this was your fault.”

“It was my fault. All of it. I shouldn’t have come.”

He
didn’
t understand what she meant, because she spoke in riddles. She regretted coming into
this
town. T
hat much he knew.

One thing was certain, if they didn’t make a move now their lives would be on the line yet again.

“I made a promise to you.”

“I know.”
Selene expression changed from one of reluctance to one of hope.

“I can’t help who I am…what I am.”

“I don’t really understand
what I saw.”

“Do you want to?” he asked.

She nodded.

“Put your hand in mine, Selene.” He held his palm out. “Come with me.”

Her fingers were warm and gentle when they touched his. Her palm was soft against his. The grip she gave in answer was confirmation enough.

He picked her up and
draped her over his arms
.

His wolf spirit still lingered on the surface
as if
she’d
somehow
called out to it.
It refused to
retreat, no matter how hard he fought to battle it.

As he car
ried her across the dusty field
, their gazes connected on more than one instance.
She studied him intimately, a worried but curious expression etching her delicate face.
His heart beat nervously in his chest and his
blood quickened as
his wolf fought to emerge. This side of him had never yearned for so much control before. He could not help to think that it had something to do with the beauty in his arms. She was tempting, yes, but to partake in what was forbidden could cost him everything.

Damn, he wanted her.

But w
ho wante
d
her more…the man or the wolf?
             

“What is this place?”

Selene’s voice echoed around her and her gaze scanned the darkened stone walls as Nick set her down gently. With its rigid structure and rocky ground, the place resembled a cave. A consistent dripping noise, probably from a water
source, came from near the back
.

“We’ll stay here until morning.” Nick walked toward a corner of the cave and came back with a back pack. “We really should keep moving, but not at the expense of your condition.”
He pulled out a pair of sweats, a long sleeved tee, and handed them to her.

She pulled the oversized closed forever her shivering body without hesitation.
“What condition?”

Nick pulled a clean t-shirt over his head.
“You’re tired and hungry.” He pulled out a few
packages
of dried food packs and a couple strips of beef jerky.

“I’m fine really.” She hated to know that she was holding him up and putting them at risk of being captured again.

“We’re safe
here for now
.”

“Those men back there…the one’s that brought us the poisoned food…were they…you know…”

Nick raised an eyebrow. “...wolves?”

“Yes
.
Were they?
”

“They were.”
He took out some supplies and a match, and quickly lit a fire over a small pit filled of
wood in the center of the cave.