Ray of Hope: The Cursed Elements Series Book 1

by K. Mawhood

  I can’t believe the way Hudson acted yesterday. He’s acted like a jealous ass before, but nothing like that. I’m glad our relationship is over. He texted me all night apologizing, but I ignored them all. Hopefully he gets the hint and leaves me the hell alone. He was giving me way too many deja vu moments from my childhood. Especially when he pushed me to the ground.

  The way those four guys jumped up to defend me? Swoon-worthy. Watching Cayden punch him in the face was hot as hell.

  I feel this weird connection to all four of them that I can’t explain. That can’t be good, right? Feeling a connection to four different men, that’s not normal. And the obvious fact of only knowing them for a day. There’s something different about them though, and I want to figure out what it is. I want to know them.

  A stick breaking behind me startles me out of my thoughts. I look over my shoulder. What the hell was that? I don’t see anything. Facing forward again, I try not to freak out. It was just an animal, don’t panic, Brayleigh, I tell myself.

  I hear more rustling in the brush. Yep, I’m panicking now, I can feel my adrenaline rising.

  Picking up speed, I start to run a little faster, throwing looks over my shoulder every couple of seconds. The hair on the back of my neck starts prickling. I think I’m being followed. I can feel eyes on me.

  “Shit, shit, shit,” I mumble to myself.

  What do I do? Should I turn around? Whoever or whatever it is isn’t on the trail itself, so maybe I can run fast enough to pass them before they can jump out.

  Yeah, that sounds like a good plan. It’s gotta be better than continuing to run deeper into the woods. I could just be scaring myself and it’s nothing, but why risk it.

  I stop abruptly and start hauling ass in the direction back to camp. I can’t remember the last time I actually full-on ran like this. Hopefully, I don’t pass out or something.

  Ten or fifteen feet ahead on the trail I see four big ass wolves exit the tree line. I skid to a stop. Oh my God, this is how I die, isn't it? Wolves? I didn’t even think we had wolves in Texas. I can feel my heart beating in my throat.

  They start walking toward me and I hold out my hands in a placating way, taking slow steps backward.

  “Nice wolfies, good wolfies,” I start telling them in a higher pitch voice. “You don’t want to eat me. No, you don’t. Good wolfies. Just walk back into the woods. Shoo shoo, go on now.”

  Obviously, that isn’t working out too great since they are getting closer. I keep stepping backwards until my back hits a tree. Shit! I’m trapped now. You aren’t supposed to run from wolves, right? Doesn’t that make them chase you? Oh my God, I don’t know!

  They’re right in front of me now. I’d say they are beautiful to look at but you know, they are about to eat me and everything.

  I immediately drop my eyes to the ground. I think I read somewhere staring at a wolf or dog in the eyes is like a challenge for dominance. I definitely don’t want to challenge them and escalate it.

  I can see all four of the wolves walking toward me out of my peripherals, and I squeeze my eyes shut. I feel them sniffing me all over and I’m pretty sure one just licked me. I think I’ve stopped breathing at this point.

  After a few moments, I don’t feel them surrounding me anymore and I squint my eyes open. They are all sitting in front of me. They aren’t growling or showing their teeth, and since I don’t feel any pain they didn’t attack me.

  Opening my eyes fully, I look at them. What the hell? They’re just sitting there calmly, some are even wagging their tails a bit. Are these just really ginormous pets or something?

  No, I’m like ninety-five percent positive these are wild wolves. I stare at them in confusion. They really are gorgeous animals. They all vary in color but seem to be the same in size with their heads hitting right below my chest.

  The first wolf is a red-ish blonde color with gray-blue eyes, and he’s currently wagging his tail. The second one has his head tilted to the side like he’s studying me, he’s light brown with bright blue eyes. The third is dark brown with pretty amber eyes, he seems very stoic. Can you describe an animal as stoic? I don’t know, but that’s just the vibe I get from him. The last one is pitch black with emerald green eyes. He’s wagging his tail too, but his tongue is also hanging out of his mouth. He almost looks like he’s giving me a goofy smile.

  I can feel my heart rate starting to calm down just a little bit. Their calm demeanor is giving me a false sense of security. I do have the oddest feeling of safety with them though, like I know they won’t hurt me. Yeah, pretty sure I’m losing my damn mind now.

  I stare at them for a little while longer. I don’t know how long I’ve been out here, but the sun has fully risen now.

  What the hell am I doing just standing here? The longer I wait the more chance they’re gonna attack me, you moron. With that thought, I bolt from the tree and run as fast as I possibly can. I know I can’t outrun them, but I’m hoping like hell they aren’t chasing me. Looking back over my shoulder, I don’t see them anywhere.

  “Oh shit, oh fuck,” I say as I run even faster. I don’t know how I’m managing the extra speed, but praise the Lord above I have it.

  A few moments later I’m breaking through the tree line and heading straight for our campsite. I see Kelsey standing near the picnic table, and I run full speed towards her. She turns just in time to see me, her eyes go wide right before I tackle her to the ground in a hug.

  “Ow!! What the hell, Bray?” she asks in a pained voice.

  Getting off her, I try to help her up but I’m trembling too bad. She manages to get herself up in a huff. Dusting herself off, she looks at me. “What happened? Why do you look so freaked out?”

  “Wolves,” is all I manage to say.

  Surprise takes over her features. “Wolves? You saw wolves out there?”

  Nodding, I plop down on the bench to the picnic table and hold my finger up. I need a minute to catch my breath and calm the heck down.

  After a minute or so, I can finally breathe. Looking up at her I nearly shout, “Yes, I saw freaking wolves out there! They had me cornered against a tree, I almost died, Kelsey.”

  “Lincoln, come out here!” Kelsey yells towards their tent.

  He comes out looking half asleep a moment later. “What’s up, babe?”

  “Bray says she was almost attacked by wolves in the woods earlier,” she tells him.

  His eyes shoot to me. “Really? What did they look like? I didn’t think there were any wolves here anymore. Maybe it was coyotes.”

  Shooting up to my feet, I hold my hand up to my chest. “They were this tall, Linc, they were massive! They weren’t like any coyotes I’ve ever seen in my life.”

  His eyes widen a little. “Are you sure? Wolves don’t get that damn big. I think you were just scared shitless and they looked that big to you.”

  Kelsey looks at me. “Yeah, maybe you were just too scared to get a realistic view.”

  “I was scared, but they came this close to me.” I hold two fingers up close together. “I know for a fact they were that big! I’m pretty damn sure one of them licked my neck!” I say, almost hysterically.

  Now they look amused. Great, they don’t believe me. Whatever, they can think I’m being dramatic until they come across one of those beasts.

  Crossing my arms, I say, “Fine, don’t believe me, but when one of them mauls your face don’t come crying to me because I warned you.”

  “Ok, ok,” Lincoln says, holding out his hands. “To be on the safe side, no one goes into the woods alone or at night. We also need to make sure we don’t leave any food out that will attract them. We should be doing that anyway because of the raccoons.”

  Kelsey and I both nod in agreement. Walking toward me, Kelsey wraps me up in a hug. “Well, I’m glad you weren’t eaten by these monster-sized wolves,” she says in a slightly joking tone.

  Pulling back, I give her a light shove. “I’m going to take a nap. I barely slept last nigh
t and all that adrenaline wore me out.” Heading over to my tent, I step inside and zip it up. Turning around, I faceplant onto my air mattress and pass out.

  Waking up a while later, I check my cell phone. Damn, I slept most of the day. It's late afternoon now as I stand up and stretch out my stiff muscles. Stupid running, stupid wolves making me do all that running. I’m gonna be sore for days now.

  Unzipping the tent and walking outside, I see the guys are over here again. They all turn to me with a smile.

  “Kelsey here was just telling us about what happened to you this morning,” Barrett says.

  “Sounds like you got pretty lucky, sweetheart,” Liam adds.

  I take a seat in my chair. “Yeah, I guess so. It was terrifying, I thought I was going to die.”

  Cayden has a smirk on his face and he looks amused.

  “What? You don’t believe me either?” I ask defensively, while crossing my arms.

  Holding up his hands he shakes his head. “I didn’t say that, darlin.”

  I narrow my eyes. I don’t believe him. He just chuckles and takes a sip of his drink.

  Wyatt thankfully changes the subject. “We came over to see if you guys wanted to go fishing with us, but your friends don’t want to. Do you want to go, Bray?”

  Hmm, that could be fun. “I don’t have any fishing gear, and I’ve only been maybe once or twice before.”

  “That’s ok. We have an extra fishing pole, and we’ll show you what to do,” Liam says, scooting closer to the edge of his seat.

  Standing up, I say, “Sure, I’ll go with y’all then. Just let me go get changed real quick.”

  “Meet us over at our campsite when you’re ready,” Barrett says as I’m zipping up my tent.

  Walking into their campsite, I see them loading all their gear in a truck.

  “Hey, guys,” I say walking up to them. “What’s the plan?”

  “We rented a boat so we need to head to the Marina. We should be able to get the bait we need there too,” Cayden answers before lifting a cooler into the bed of the truck. His biceps bulge with the move and pull his sleeves tight. It takes everything in me to tear my eyes away.

  “That’s cool. I’ve never been on a boat before,” I say with a smile.

  Liam places some poles in the truck then turns to me. “You’ll have a blast then, riding in a boat feels so freeing. Almost like you're flying if you go fast enough.”

  Wyatt whips his head around. “We won’t be going that fast,” he says with a glare aimed at Liam. “It’s getting too close to sunset and that’s too dangerous.”

  Liam opens his mouth to say something but he gets cut off by Barrett. “Ok, guys, don’t start. We’re ready to go so load up.” Interesting. Those two must bicker a lot.

  Barrett glances over at me. “You’ll have to squeeze in the middle of the backseat since you’re the smallest.”

  I shrug my shoulders. “Sounds good,” I reply before climbing in after Wyatt, with Liam following behind me. Barrett climbs into the driver’s seat and Cayden hops into the passenger side.

  As Barrett starts his truck, it occurs to me how close I am to two of the hottest guys I've ever hung out with. I peek at Liam, trying to be sly, but it didn't work since he was already staring at me. I can feel the redness spreading on my cheeks as he winks and proceeds to put his arm around me.

  There's that feeling again. It's such an unearthly feeling, yet so natural. It travels from where his arm first touches me to every inch of my body.

  Every inch.

  I think this is a bit too much, and apparently so does Wyatt because he practically growls at Liam. Liam scoffs and pulls his arm away and puts it in his lap, looking sad and defeated. I almost laugh but stop myself because now that feeling is gone and I feel emptier than before.

  Chapter Nine

  We get to the Marina in no time at all and head in. Barrett goes to wait in line at the boat rental section while the rest of us look around the makeshift store for bait and other fishing essentials. I go with this pink, sparkly bait because I can and because it annoys Cayden.

  When the guys are finally done, we pay for our stuff and head back to the truck to grab our poles. Barrett grabs a metallic blue fishing pole and hands it to me to borrow for the day. I smile at him and he just looks at his feet shyly. He's so adorable in his mint fishing shirt and wranglers. Wait, stop it, Brayleigh! You just had a huge blowout with Hudson. Calm your lady juices.

  Walking to the pier, Barrett announces our boat is number five. I spot the boat farther down and yell, “found it!” The guys follow my lead, as I make sure to do a little sexy walk. Not obvious, but enough to make those Pilates classes worth it. We make it to the boat and it's perfect.

  "It's so small," Cayden murmurs.

  "That's what she said," I reply with humor in my voice. The rest of the guys laugh their asses off. Cayden just looks at me like he wants to rip my head off and high five me at the same time. Maybe I'm growing on him, I think to myself as I smirk at him.

  The boat is a beautiful turquoise and he's right, it is small, but we only need it for a short fishing trip so we all get on and pick our seats. The top area where the captain would stand is a pearly white with a red and white lifesaver hanging behind the wheel. Then there are three benches in front where the rest of us can sit with an awning that is already up. The side says sun tracker with rails situated around the front and sides of the boat. I sit down in one of the first benches and decide to let them choose their own seats.

  "I'm going to steer," Liam shouts.

  "Like hell you are," they all reply in unison. Liam's face looks frustrated as he sits on the bench.

  "I guess I'll whip out my rod instead then," he murmurs, and winks at me.

  Wyatt starts the boat as everyone gets seated. Barrett sits next to me, probably more so to help me since I have no idea what to do. While Barrett is preparing the line with the weight and hook, all I can do is stare at his muscular arms. I trail to his face, taking in his features. When I look at him, I get the feeling he’s just a sweet, honest guy, but then I see the eyebrow piercing and feel there’s more there. Pair that with the leather jacket I’ve seen him wearing at night and I have to know more.

  I get my bag from the store at the Marina and pull out my bait. The one thing I do remember is how bad the bait smells. I brace myself as I open the jar of Powerbait and scoop a little amount into my hand. I make a tiny ball with my hand and put it on the hook that Barrett set up for me.

  Driving for a bit, Wyatt finds an inlet to park the boat and stops the motor. All the guys start casting their lines as I look at my rod with confusion. I start to study how they are casting theirs, but all the poles are different and I can’t figure it out. I look down and just decide to go for it. What’s the worst that could happen.

  I stand up and put my thumb on the button the guys used, swing it behind my back, and fling it back in front of me. I start to spin the reel and look out into the water to see how far it went just as Cayden shouts, “Son of a bitch!” Oh my gosh! I literally hooked Cayden’s ass!!

  “I’m so sorry, Cayden!” I scream as I drop my pole, rushing to help him. Apparently that wasn’t the best thing to do because that jolted the hook even farther into his ass as he grunts and yells at the guys.

  “Someone get this damn hook out of me!”

  And I thought I was growing on him.

  Liam goes over to Cayden and tells him to be still. He is taking his time just to annoy him. He finally gets the hook out, which was mostly stuck to the fabric of his jeans. Cayden doesn’t even look down; he's just glaring at me. I go to my pole and begin to reel the line in.

  “Well, who would like to show me how to cast this so I don’t catch anyone else?” I say quietly.

  Wyatt steps up to help and I’m relieved. He steps behind me and starts to whisper in my ear. “First, put your thumb on the button,” he says as I put my hand on the reel and do what he says. He takes his hand and places it on top of mine. My
stomach drops and I almost become weak at the knees. Why does their touch feel so fucking good?

  It must not affect him because he continues to whisper in my ear. “Keep your thumb on that button as you swing the rod behind us. Then when you throw it forward, the second the rod is above your head, lift your thumb so the line releases and can go into the water,” he instructs. “Ok, I think I can do this.”

  “Well, if you can’t, just aim it at Barrett this time.” Wyatt snickers as he puts his other hand on my hip and leans in closer. I can feel his breath quicken. Maybe he is affected as well. Just that thought makes me squeeze my thighs together.

  I take a deep breath and start to go through all the motions and this time, when I look into the water, my line is about ten feet in front of me. I shriek with excitement as I turn around. I get on my tip toes and throw my arms around his neck and give him a sweet kiss on the cheek.

  As I pull away, his blues eyes meet mine. His light brown hair hits my hands and all I want to do is run my fingers through his silky locks. We stare at each other as if we are the only two on the boat. I feel so content in the moment, with his arms around me. He must feel the same way because he hasn’t moved a muscle.

  I finally snap out of it, saying, “Thank you!” as I drop my arms. I feel my racing heart slow a bit as I sit down and reel my line in. Sensing someone staring at me, I look around to see three pairs of eyes glaring at me.

  Barrett

  My wolf is pissed, no not just pissed, he’s livid. I’m not one to overreact, but I’m close to losing it. So is she just going to be with Wyatt? Not that I had thought she would be with any of us, let alone all, but I was hoping there was a possibility. That’s what this fishing trip was supposed to be about. Letting her in on our history and what we are.

  I look around at the other guys and they are feeling the same rage as I am. I’m glad I’m not the only one. At least it happened in front of all of us. If they had been alone, he probably wouldn’t have told us at all. Breathing in and out, I slowly calm down and see the guys mirroring me as we all sit down in our seats. Wyatt’s just over there smiling from ear to ear. Fuck him.