Annoyance flared deep. First Baba, now her? I had to wonder what they were basing their judgements on. His scars? The fact that they didn’t fully understand wolf shifters?
I shook my head hard. "He's one of the good guys."
"Says who?"
"Says me,” I said, trying to stay calm. “When we find Archer and Grady, you'll understand. Besides, I've shot people too. I've killed some of Faust's pack with the new poison I helped make, and I haven't given a second thought to it."
“That’s supposed to make me feel better?” she squeaked. "Killing doesn't bother you at all? Not even a little?"
“Look…” I sat back in the chair and reined in my emotions since none of this was Jade’s fault. "I've seen the trauma Thomas's pack has been through since losing the Crimson Forest to Faust. It's my trauma now too. I'm just trying to help make it right. Sometimes when you need to make a point, it has to be a bloody one."
"Okay, but don’t be mad,” she said, squeezing my hand. “I’m trying to understand. It's just…you've changed. You're sharper, harder than I've ever seen you."
I squeezed back and stroked my fingers through the long, silky strands of her hair. "I'm carved from the snow. I always have been.” Gently, I slid my hand from hers and stood. “Now get some sleep, okay?"
"You’ll both be here when I wake up? You and Lee?”
“Of course.” I crossed to the door and paused with my hand on the knob. I wanted to ask her more of what had happened to her and Lee, but all she’d had the strength to say was that Lager had taken her to Margin’s jail two days before. She broke down after that, and I couldn’t bear to push. "I love you, Jade."
She sucked in a trembling breath. "I love you more."
My heart lightened even as it pulled me back toward them, but they needed sleep. I did, too, since my heavy limbs seemed to drag behind the rest of me as I closed the door after me.
"No rest for the weary."
I leaped and spun around with my hand over my heart, my blood crashing between my ears. "Thomas," I hissed. "Don't do that."
"You were about to walk right by me."
"Because you're a ghost."
Silence stretched the length of the hallway between us, but I knew that quiet well enough by now to know it was stalking toward me down the hall.
"So you think I'm dead too." His voice was rough, sleepy, and I felt it everywhere, like sparks along my skin. They burned brighter the closer he drew.
"Not even close," I said breathlessly.
He came right up to me and nudged me against the wall with his large body, boxing me in with his arms posted on either side of my head. My mind flashed back to the town hall when we'd been in a similar position and his lips had been devouring mine. Heat tingled up and down my thighs and pulsed deep inside of me. My breaths hitched, my rising chest brushing his and perking my nipples into painful points.
"You move like a ghost," I clarified, "but you sure as hell don't kiss like you're dead."
He leaned in and growled as he brushed his lips across the top of my forehead. "You think I'm lying when I say I don't feel things."
"I never said you were lying."
"Then listen to the truth." His hand went to the front of my neck and squeezed, not enough to cut off my air but to touch, to skip my heartbeat faster. "I feel nothing." He brushed his nose down the side of mine, inhaling long and deep, then teased his mouth across mine.
My pulse humming, I wanted to sag forward for more. He fueled me with powerful lust and need, and at the same time ground up all sense with what he was saying. He pulled away, his hand around my neck tightening some.
"I feel nothing, except when I'm with you,” he growled. “A human. Everything you feel, I feel ten times over. Explain that."
"We're connected.” I reached out to feel him, the muscles in his arms tensing as I did. I wished I could see him, too, wished I could feel all of him. “I see myself inside of you, clear as day. Our pasts. Our scars."
“She’s right, you know,” he muttered, tearing away from my seeking fingers. He paced down the hall a few steps and then turned back.
“About what?” My voice sounded a little too shrill and broken, my heart a loud strike that beat toward him.
“I don’t have any trouble killing.”
"You heard."
"I did,” he murmured. “But she missed one critical detail."
“What’s that?”
“I tried to free those slaves with a wave of my hand toward the open back door. They didn’t want to go. One told me she’d gone there willingly because she was an orphan, said it was the only place that could feed and shelter her during winter. Most of them were just like her, and since he doesn’t know else to do, Margin’s sheriff and the mayor look the other way.”
A gravelly squeak rose up out of my throat. We could’ve ended up there anyway—Jade, Lee, and me—as a last resort if the events surrounding Baba getting shot had gone just a little bit differently.
“Money is hardly ever exchanged,” Thomas continued. “Slaves are rarely bought and sold—”
“But that didn’t stop Lager. He’d do anything for money. How much of a head start do we give him?”
“A day. Two tops.”
“One day.”
Silence, but I could sense his agreement.
“Why tell me this right now?” I asked.
“I feel what you feel. Your rage has precise targets, but your desire is an overwhelming compulsion that’s impossible for me to ignore.” He kissed me again like a man untamed, his whole body dominating mine with his mouth, his hands, and the sound of his thrashing heart.
I moaned at the intensity of his touch, at the ruthless strokes of his tongue I couldn’t seem to get enough of. I arched into his palm on my breast, and my flannel rubbed exquisitely against my aching nipple. His kiss was everywhere, and I desperately wanted more.
“Then don’t ignore it,” I pleaded.
“No. You’re too tired. Another time.” He pulled away.
“Wait.” I reached out to drag him back—but he’d already gone softly into the night.
Chapter Eight
On a sleigh just like the one I used to have, Baba, Jade, and Lee headed west out of Margin. Three of the Slipjoint wolf shifters, including the alpha, Jenk, led the sleigh in their human forms so they wouldn't scare and confuse Lee. My heart grew heavy as they left, our shared tears and warm embraces still suffusing every part of my body. Even Baba had hugged me, a brisk, silent one that had left me stiff with shock. Still, it'd been nice. Now they were gone when I'd just gotten them back. It would be safer for them in case of retaliation—I knew this—but it didn't make it any easier.
"It's time," Thomas said, hooking his fingers around my gloved ones.
“I’m ready.” I squeezed, grateful for the comfort, and stepped Sasha and me into his waiting arms, my feet atop his. His heat enveloped us and instantly soothed my winter-bitten cheeks. He smelled like dried jasmine instead of snow; we all did to mask our scents. His heart beat a steady rhythm throughout his chest, and I smiled into it as I wrapped my arms around his solid form. Even though he was nearly two of me put together, we fit perfectly, two damaged souls fused together by both our pasts and our futures. My ghost protector.
And after kissing him yesterday, my blood thrummed as I pressed myself against him, careful of Sasha tucked into my side. I could still feel that kiss, just as easily as I felt the hard column of his muscles forming to my body.
"Tell me if you or Sasha need to stop," he said into the top of my hair.
I nodded and closed my eyes as he brushed his lips over my forehead.
Then we were off, following the rest of the Slipjoint pack northeast through the edge of Margin and then into the Slipjoint Forest. We'd pass Margin's Row without seeing it, a good thing since I couldn't bear to see what was left of my home again.
Thomas held me to him tightly, my feet no longer on top of his as he waded through occasional high drifts where
the trees didn't grow close together. When we were well into the forest, the trees grew thicker and made travel faster. Snowy branches slid across Thomas's coat in a hypnotic, gentle rhythm that coaxed me into a doze.
But a loud crack jerked me awake.
"Shit." Thomas shoved me away from him and backed me into a tree, his body blocking mine.
"What?" I hissed, trying to calm a wriggling wolf pup inside my coat. "What do you see?"
"Nothing yet. The Slipjoints are tracking it."
"That crack sounded like a gun." My mind snapped to Lager. He would have seen his cabin by now. Part of the Slipjoint pack had been tracking him and reporting back. He was heading toward Old Man’s Den, and we were following.
Sasha whimpered in my arms, but there weren't enough kisses in the world to quiet her. The pit of my stomach soured. She only reacted like this when something was terribly wrong.
"Hush, sweet girl. Please," I whispered.
Another shot cracked through the forest, this one closer. Followed by the yelp of a wolf. I sucked in a breath and pulled Thomas in closer, waiting.
Silence lowered over the forest, as thick and stifling as the snow.
Thomas wore my bow and quiver, but when I went for them, he turned out of my reach.
"It’s just hunters maybe, looking for food," he assured me.
"But they wouldn't shoot huma—"
The next crack exploded into the tree above our heads. My heart galloped into my throat as Thomas ducked us both down and dove us into the cover of trees.
Another shot shattered into the tree just inches in front of my head, spraying ice and splintered wood into my face. I cried out and ducked lower, my legs scrambling to move faster. Sasha yelped, and I prayed she was all right.
"Give her to me," Thomas hissed.
I did without question, handing him a tense ball of nerves that he hid inside his coat.
"We have to run." He took my hand in his. "Hold tight."
We ran as fast as I could keep up, my boots sliding over frozen tree roots jutting out of the ground and patches of solid ice.
But we were going the wrong way. I could tell by the wind. We were headed north, straight into the Crimson Forest where we would not be welcomed.
I gasped, the cold freezing my lungs together. "Faust's pack will see us coming."
Yet another shot shook snow down on top of us.
"It’s either this or a bullet through the head."
"They're chasing us?" I asked between pants.
"I've heard of them. They’re rogue hunters. Humans who hide in the trees during winter because they're starving for food, any kind of food."
Including us. I’d never been so desperate to even consider that. “There must be dozens of them."
"Too many to waste our bullets and arrows on."
"Can you see them?"
"Not yet. Come on. Hurry. Don’t be an easy target."
I gripped his hand in a death grip as we sped our pace, afraid I'd slow us to a deadly crawl if I planted down a foot wrong. But Thomas tugged and pulled my hand as he guided me, and I knew I had to trust where he led me.
Had this been what had happened to Grady and Shay? Run off by rogues who didn’t care what they ate? They would've been protected in the carriage though…unless it had broken down.
Or were Shay’s neighbors part of the rogue hunters, which could explain why their cupboards and cellar were mostly empty? If so, what had that been in their soup bowls?
Pain stitched my side as Thomas dodged me around tree after tree. My legs couldn't go any faster, and the cold burned down my throat until I was gasping for air.
"Fuck." Thomas tightened his grip on my hand and sped his pace even more, hauling me along after him.
"What?" I tried to ask, but only a breathless groan came out.
Then I knew, as soon as I separated the crash of our feet from all other sounds. Instead of gunshots, rapid movement barreled along beside us on either side.
Wolves.
Not friendly given Thomas's reaction, and in the next instant, he shot at one on the left with his gun. It went down with a yelp, but another immediately took its place. They came at us from both sides at sharp angles, narrowing our escape options, and we couldn't turn back to face the rogue hunters. Not with our limited stash of weapons. We had to keep going. We had to keep running to Old Man's Den. How much more did we have to travel? An hour?
Thomas shot again. And again, but it didn't seem to matter. The wolves were everywhere now, so near I could hear their claws scraping snow.
"Aika!"
Something huge crashed into my back. I went down hard into the snow, my senses scattering, my arms flailing. If I’d had Sasha, I would've surely crushed her. What little air I held in my lungs funneled out, and before I could turn my head and inhale, a heavy weight pressed down on the back of my head. Snow froze to my mouth and nose—and that was all there was. Just snow. No air. None at all.
I fought to break free, lashed out with my arms and legs, but the weight only strengthened, pressing my face farther into the snow. Panic surged through me as I kicked and punched, but none of them connected.
Around me, ferocious, terrifying growls and snapping jaws filled the Crimson Forest. Thomas must've shifted, but if so, what had he done with Sasha?
Oh god. Sasha.
A crash of adrenaline bucked me sideways out from underneath what was suffocating me. I drew in a single breath, blinked the snow from my eyes—and gazed down on the scene from above. From Sasha…in a tree? Thomas in his huge gray and white wolf form, all fangs and red eyes and murderous aggression, fought off four others.
And only a few feet away, a white wolf lunged straight for my neck.
I rolled.
It pivoted and snarled, advancing once again.
I recognized it, or thought I did. It was the same size, same color as the one I'd seen at the tavern in Old Man's Den.
Louisa, Faust’s wife.
From above, I found my arrows and bow leaning against the tree trunk a few feet away.
I dove for them, knowing it was a risk to turn my back on the wolf. I just needed a second, if that.
It wasn't enough.
The wolf snapped down on my boot and punctured it through to the ankle. I screamed in pain and twisted to get away while at the same time reaching for my bow. With my foot still in its mouth, the wolf dragged me backward, its teeth slicing tender flesh. White-hot pain bolted up my leg, and I screamed again. I tried to kick my leg loose from its jaws and escape my backward slide but couldn’t.
From above, from my other pair of eyes, a growl sounded. Not the cute buzzing but a definite growl from my favorite wolf pup.
The wolf loosened her grip enough for me to free myself. My fingertips caught the string of my bow, knocking it sideways into my quiver. Arrows scattered over the snowy roots. I snatched one up, jackknifed my body around, and had an arrow nocked within seconds.
The white wolf gazed up at Sasha with such a haunted, pained look in her eyes that it almost seemed as though tears glistened there.
Thomas prowled toward her, his lips peeled back and his red eyes narrowed in a hate-filled glower. The other four wolves lay split apart and staining the snow a deep crimson.
"Tell him we're coming," I told the white wolf, my arrow steady. "And when you do, note the fear he tries to hide. It won't be just his town that goes up in flames, but his bones. You tell him that."
Thomas ticked his gaze to me, his fierce grin softening some.
A hint of pride welled up inside of me. This hadn't been the plan, announcing our presence like this, but I wasn't so blinded with rage that I couldn't see this female wolf shifter's desperation. Even with my arrow aimed at her and Thomas behind her, she flicked her attention to the wolf pup in the tree. She wanted a baby so badly that she'd do anything for one—and she couldn’t because the Crimson Forest had rejected her when she’d left the pack. Having a baby wasn't what I wanted when I needed too many other t
hings, but I understood that level of desperation, that drive to do whatever it took. I hoped Thomas understood this too.
He shifted back into a man, fully clothed in his long woolen overcoat and deep hood, but just as terrifying as his wolf form. "Go." His voice was hard, unforgiving.
With one last glance up at Sasha, she turned.
"You can't breed if you're dead, Louisa," Thomas said. “Faust will get you killed, one way or another. My pack won’t take you back, but that doesn’t mean another one won’t.”
A flash of hurt tightened the corners of her pale eyes, and then she was gone, her white fur merging instantly with the snow.
I looked to Thomas. "Should we have let her go?"
"That's up to her," he said tightly, staring after her.
"We're still in the Crimson Forest."
"Good thing it's a shortcut to Old Man’s Den. We're almost there. Just be on your guard."
"Always am."
"One of the things I like about you."
Despite the pain in my ankle, despite my shivering, I smiled.
He crossed toward me in two large strides and crouched, his frown etching deep. "I'm no Grady when it comes to sewing people up, but I'll do what I can." He undid the scarf from my hair and began to wind it around my ankle.
I winced. "I've had worse wolf bites."
"She went easy on you."
I bit back a groan as he cinched my ankle up tight, the pain making me grind my teeth together. "Easy? Why would she do that?"
"Louisa’s a follower. That's all she's good at, but that doesn't mean she's a killer."
"I threatened her life. I scratched her face with an arrow in Old Man’s Den and did nothing while Grady locked her in a metal cage."
"You acted like an alpha."
"But you’re—"
"The female alpha of a wolf pack. You drew first blood in Old Man’s Den. She despises you, but probably a little of her respects you.”
I sawed my teeth over my bottom lip, considering. Me, an alpha female, and I wasn’t even a wolf shifter.
“If she respects me, she has a funny way of showing it,” I said.
“All this was just for show in front of Faust's pack." With his lips firmed, he finished tying the scarf and stood.
Winter's Rage (The Crimson Winter Reverse Harem Series Book 3) Page 7
