4
Ariana
When I awoke the next morning, I knew they were looking for me. Rays of warm sunlight peeked through the brambles, warning me of dawn. I yawned and stretched, only to feel the prick of briars at my ankles. I winced and retracted my feet, glaring at the surrounding foliage.
Ariana.
I looked around quickly before realizing Maximus spoke in my head again. I resisted an irritated groan and shimmied out from under the copse of shrubs. The same deep voice spoke my name again, and I quickly slammed up the brick walls Maximus and Shira had taught me to construct.
Though I could feel the concern of the pack, it was distant, like a whisper over my mind. I took a deep breath and straightened my clothes—or Shira’s clothes. Smudges of dirt marred the once clean clothing, and for a second, I felt bad. It had been a long time since someone showed me kindness. And I’d already run away.
My heart lurched painfully, and I gripped the hem of my shirt. I knew I shouldn’t feel guilty. I didn’t know these people, and I couldn’t trust them. The only people I’d ever been able to trust were gone. Dead. There was only me and my wolf.
As if on queue, my wolf strained forward, desperate to be free of the mental cage I’d shoved her into. I bit my lip. She showed me images of us running through the forest, one with the wind as we leapt over fallen trees and across streams. But though I wanted to trust my wolf, I didn’t know if it’d be easy to return to my human form. I knew my wolf had kept me safe by taking over the last few years, but now that I’d gotten me back, I wasn’t so ready to lose her again.
Taking a deep breath, I calmed my racing heart and pushed away the voices of the pack. I had to think. It had been so long since I’d had my head, I didn’t know where to start. Though my wolf could protect me out here in the wild—provide me with food, safety, and comfort—did I want more than that? Something about Maximus and the others called to me, pulling on my soul to return to the lodge and be with my pack.
But was it my pack? Maximus had forced this bond on me, and that act in itself was certainly not going to make me trust him. Instead of sorting through my thoughts, I started walking away from pack territory. I instinctively knew I was heading away from it. As the voices in my head grew distant, my shoulders relaxed and I took in the crisp scent of morning air.
Through the trees, I spotted the same cliffs I’d admired on the drive in. As a child, I’d loved to climb. Trees. Rocks. Hills. Cliffs. If I could find anything that towered above me, I wanted to climb it.
That same, familiar sensation of wanting to be above the world itched in my bones, and I changed course toward the steep hills. Adrenaline wormed through my veins, and my pulse pounded in my ears.
Before I knew it, I was racing through the trees, my wolf howling inside me. She wanted to be free to run with me, and eventually I would let her. I knew I couldn’t keep her at bay forever, but for now, I needed to remember what it was like to be human.
I reached the bottom of the cliff in a small clearing. Trees ascended from the top of it, barely visible from this angle. I inspected the rocky face for handholds, of which there were many. It had to be thirty feet high, not a bad climb for my first one in ten years.
My fingers tapped my thighs as I created a clear path from bottom to top in my mind. Once I had it, I went to the wall, trailing my fingers across the rough surface before digging my hands around the first set of holds just above my head.
Excitement rocketed through me, stealing my breath as I heaved myself up once, then twice. Soon, I was two feet above the ground. Then five. Then ten.
My muscles shook with strain, and sweat trickled down my back. It was harder than I remembered. Still, my excitement wouldn’t be tamed as I edged upward, one hold at a time.
Ten feet from the from the top, I jammed my fingers into a crevice and held tight. I was just above the trees now, and the forest stretched out around me.
I dug my toes into a small nook and pushed. The stone slipped beneath my foot, grinding against the cliff before tumbling to the forest floor. My heart lurched and I clung to the cliff face, grappling for another toe hold. I expected something else to shift and send me to my death, but nothing did.
It took me several long minutes and several deep breath to regain my composure. When I finally stopped shaking, I turned my attention back to the wall and pushed myself up once again.
A sudden whoosh overhead had me leaning back. What now?
The trees shook with a violent wind and a beast like I’d never seen before shot over the edge of the cliff, scaled wings splayed on either side of its massive form. A cry of shock escaped my throat as it flapped its wings and the current caught me off guard. I dug my toes and fingers into my holds, but the current was too strong. A gasp tumbled from my lips as I was yanked right off the side of the cliff.
My heart raced as I desperately threw out a plea for help to anyone that might be able to save me. I was too high up, and I’d break every bone in my body if I hit the ground. Time seemed to slow as I twisted in mid-air. The rocky ground below was coming up way too fast.
I was going to die.
I’d survived the pits, Dante, the death of my parents, and torture for years, only to die from falling off a damn cliff.
The irony wasn’t lost on me, and I would have laughed if I had any breath in my lungs. I closed my eyes, accepting my fate.
Instead of rocky ground, something warm caught me, and my eyes flashed open. A set of chiselled arms held me to a bare chest, one arm hooked around my back, the other beneath my legs. My cheek pressed against the man’s shoulder, and heat flamed through my cheeks.
“Hang on tight,” he said.
I glanced up, but being pressed so closely, I could only make out dark hair and gorgeous mocha skin. His angular jaw was covered in dark stubble, and I swore I saw a flash of green eyes. He squeezed me tighter, and I lost sight of his eyes, but over his shoulder, red wings beat the air.
I gasped. “What are you?”
I’d read fairytales as a child—damsels trapped in towers, knights sneaking into the dens of dragons seeking glory. It wasn’t possible, and yet, here he was. A man with dragon wings.
Wait. Had it been him who flew overhead? My eyebrows furrowed and flames of anger burned inside my belly. He’d nearly killed me!
The man chuckled, and his lips twitched in a smile. He didn’t respond, and that only fanned my fire.
“Put me down!” I growled. My wolf, who’d seemed stunned until this moment, growled inside me, but it wasn’t the fury I expected of the beast that had protected me all my life. Instead, her growl was akin to a cat’s purr.
Mine, she whispered.
What? Mine?! Was she fucking kidding me?
“If I put you down right now, you’ll plummet to your death,” the dragon man said. There was a slight edge of mockery in his tone that made me narrow my eyes. When I didn’t answer, he laughed. “You’re a wolf aren’t you? One of Maximus's?”
My eyes widened. “Where are you taking me?”
“Back to your pack.”
Damn. I’d nearly been free of them, and now he was taking me back. “Could you take me somewhere else?”
His grip stiffened, and I sensed his confusion as much as I felt my own. He didn’t say a word, and over the edge of the trees, a large wooden lodge came into view. Several wolves were in the yard with a couple of humans.
The dragon man swooped through the air, angling down toward the front of the house. I ground my teeth and prepared to spring from his grip the moment we landed.
Even as the rest of me coiled for action, my wolf pressed against my mind, urging me to stay in this stranger’s warm, muscled, incredibly strong…
I stopped her right there. There was no time for these thoughts. I had to get out of there before someone scented me.
Our descent slowed, and the dragon man angled his wings overhead, scooping the air until he touched down.
Before I could leap away, he set me on my
feet, making sure I was steady before he released my elbow and stepped back.
The moment I saw his gorgeous face, all thoughts of fleeing temporarily evaporated. My eyes widened as I took in his face, like a greek god, but East Indian like Shira.
Our eyes met, and his widened. His lips parted in a silent gasp.
“The Silver Shifter,” he whispered.
The what? My forehead wrinkled in confusion. His hands went to my shoulders, squeezing lightly.
“He’s found you.” His voice was filled with such awe that my entire body began to heat. The feeling was unfamiliar, and I quickly stepped away. I needed some space to get my head on straight and figure out what the hell was going on.
“Ariana!” Maximus called from the front door.
Shit.
I looked over my shoulder at the alpha making his way across the driveway. His shoulders relaxed, and his eyes lit up before narrowing on the man who’d saved me.
“Cash,” Maximus growled.
The dragon man stiffened, his nostrils flaring. The awe drained from his face as it twisted in anger. “Maximus.” Cash’s fists clenched and a growl rumbled from his chest, deeper than I’d ever heard from a shifter. “What is the meaning of this?”
Maximus slid an arm around me and pulled me away from Cash, holding me protectively against his strong body. I bit my tongue on a growl and shot him a glare, but Maximus and Cash were in the middle of their own stare down.
“What are you doing here?” Maximus asked, ignoring Cash’s question.
“You dare to question me when you’re harboring the Silver Shifter without even informing the clans?”
I looked between the two, my irritation suddenly replaced with confusion. What were they talking about? What on earth was the Silver Shifter, and how did it relate to me?
Maximus snarled. “We only found her yesterday. She’s hardly had time to adjust yet.”
She? So I was this mysterious Silver Shifter that had Cash so upset.
“You should have called the moment you found her. You know we’ve all been searching for twenty years.” Cash’s green eyes flashed and his pupils slit like a cat’s.
My wolf whined inside. She was just as confused as me.
“I was going to.” Maximus hesitated, his tensed shoulders lowering slightly. “But there were unforeseen circumstances.”
Cash stilled. His pupils returned to normal. “What kind of circumstances?”
They glanced at me before exchanging a long look. Maximus finally let out a sigh of defeat. “I’ll explain… when we’re alone.”
Again, they both looked at me, and I knew they were going to keep me out of this very important conversation.
5
Ariana
“The others will want to know about this,” Cash said. “And they deserve to know. You should have told us the moment she was in your custody.”
I bristled at his words. I was in Maximus's custody? Was that what this was? He’d told me I was bonded with his pack temporarily. Not that I was a prisoner in his house.
“What the hell is going on?” I demanded. I’d had enough of being spoken about like I wasn’t there. I’d put up with that in wolf form because I’d had no choice. But now I had my thoughts back under my control—and my tongue.
Maximus sighed and ran a hand through his glossy chestnut hair. “Ariana, why don’t you go inside and get something to eat. Shira will get you something clean to wear as well.”
“It’s their right to know,” Cash growled at Maximus, his wings snapping against the air in irritation. “You have to tell them, Maximus. Better yet, I will. You seem to have your hands full here.”
“Fine,” Maximus said, his shoulders slumping. “Tell them to come tomorrow. I’d hoped she’d have more time to adjust, but I suppose it can’t be helped.”
“Damn right,” Cash said. “I’ll change course and deliver the news now.” His eyes moved to me, drinking me in. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Ariana.”
My name sounded exotic on his lips, and I couldn’t help the warm shiver that went through my body when his eyes lingered on mine for just a beat. He crouched slightly and then shot upwards into the air. He began to beat his wings, and the current through the air sent me reeling backwards.
Maximus leapt forward and caught me, his strong arm supporting my back.
“I’m okay,” I said, but I let him hold onto me as I watched Cash streak across the sky. I’d just met a freaking dragon!
“Let’s get inside,” Maximus said. “Shira’s waiting for you.”
“Want to explain to me what’s going on?” I asked. “What’s all this Silver Shifter talk? I mean, obviously my hair is silver, but you act like it’s a big deal.”
“It is a big deal,” Maximus said, looking weary. “And so is your safety.”
“Which is why you forced me into your pack?” I asked. “That’s why I’m a prisoner here, just like I was in the pits?”
“No. It’s not like that,” Maximus said. “I would never mistreat a member of my own pack.”
“Yeah, well, that pack nonsense is wearing off real quick,” I said. “So what happens when I’m not a member of your pack?”
A pained expression crossed his face. “I know you have no reason to trust me, but I would never hurt you, Ariana. Never.”
He was right that I had no reason to trust him, and yet, I could tell through the bond that he had no ill will toward me. But he had to want something, and his reluctance to answer my questions only raised my suspicions.
I had been hungry for a long time, though. I couldn’t remember a time when the gnawing pain wasn’t a constant companion. So I followed Maximus inside when he walked up the steps and into the lodge. As promised, Shira had laid the table with food—quiche, fresh fruit, wheat toast, a pitcher of orange juice, and a carafe of coffee.
“Let’s eat,” Maximus said, taking a seat at the head of the table.
“Anything else you want?” Shira asked.
At first I thought she was talking to Maximus, her alpha. But then I realized she was staring right at me, waiting for my answer. I started to say no—being picky meant being hungry. Before I could, a memory from childhood rose unbidden to my mind.
“Do you have chocolate milk?” I asked.
“I’m afraid we don’t,” she said. “I can get some next time we go into town.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I said, suddenly self-conscious at their eyes on me.
“I’ll make you some,” Maximus said, pushing back from the table.
“It’s okay, really,” I said.
“Just let him make it,” Shira said. She patted my hand as Maximus took some chocolate syrup from the refrigerator. She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Trust me, he’ll order you around plenty. On the rare occasions he wants to be of service, enjoy it.”
“I heard that,” Maximus said, his back to us as he poured milk into the glass with the chocolate.
Shira rolled her eyes and offered me a smile before he returned to the table. “For our guest,” he said, bowing gallantly and handing me the chocolate milk.
I couldn’t help but smile. “Thank you,” I said, taking a sip. The sweetness of chocolate burst on my tongue and I had to suppress a moan. “I haven’t had this since I was a kid.”
“Me, neither,” Maximus said, pouring himself some coffee. “Adults don’t usually drink chocolate milk.”
I decided right then that I’d be drinking it every day.
“Now, let’s get some things straight,” Maximus said, squaring his shoulders. “Ariana, you can’t go running off like you did. It’s not safe out there, as you now know. What if Cash hadn’t been there to stop your fall?”
I jerked in my seat. For a moment, I questioned how he knew I’d fallen in the first place, but then my desperate mental plea came to mind. Even so, angry heat rose inside of me.
“If Cash hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t have fallen,” I shot back, not bothering to hide my irritation.
“I’m trying to protect you,” Maximus growled. “Please stop being so stubborn and do as I ask, while I’m still asking. You’ve gotten us into enough trouble today.”
My wolf stirred. “You mean I got you into trouble.”
“Yes,” he said. “And yourself. I’m the pack’s leader. I need to know where my members are and that they’re safe. I can’t have you wandering around and falling off cliffs.”
My wolf growled at that. “So I’m not free to take a walk? I might as well be back in the pits.”
Maximus's eyes flashed with anger. “That’s not something to joke about.”
“You think I don’t know that?” Now my wolf was straining to break free, to have at this man who was upsetting me. Pushing her back, I grabbed my chocolate milk and chugged the whole thing, refusing to let his anger intimidate me. I’d been in a cage most of my life, and before that, even when I was “free,” I’d been the property of a warlock. Now, I’d been promised freedom for the first time in my life, and I wasn’t about to give it up this easily. I slammed my glass down and glared at him.
“You’re acting like a child,” Maximus said through clenched teeth.
“I was born into the service of that warlock, but if you don’t have paperwork to prove it, then I don’t belong to you.”
“You don’t belong to me,” Maximus said stiffly. I could tell he was barely controlling his anger to speak to me in an even tone. “But you should belong to this pack. Wolves need protection, and I can protect you.”
“No,” I said. “I’m done being owned and controlled. If you want me to stay, I’ll stay for now, but I need to be able to do what I want—to come and go when I want. And I’m not taking the bond.”
“Bullshit,” Maximus burst out, his fist slamming against the table. “I can’t protect you if I don’t know where you are.”
“I don’t need your protection,” I said, my hands clenching into fists. The wolf inside me roared to come out and join the fight. “And I won’t be forced into your pack and have you listening in on my every thought.”
Her Wolf: A Why Choose Urban Fantasy Romance (Silver Shifter Book 1) Page 3
