“Ma’am.”
“Hello again.” She smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.
He turned back to Garrett.
“I don’t suppose you have spotted any of those wolves around here that my young friend here encountered?”
“No, we haven’t, and we have been all around the area. My guess is that they moved on; wolves are smart and will move on to a safe place.”
“There were three or four, maybe even more,” the younger man said, and India sensed the lie immediately. She stared him down, but he didn’t back away, instead he licked his lips and grinned and she wanted to smash her fist into his ugly face.
“You should be careful, the older man said, they attacked Bobby here, one of them has a taste for blood now.” he was telling the truth as he knew it and the other younger man just looked bored. Bobby was the problem, the other two wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for him.
“I think we will be okay.” Garrett sounded friendly as he lifted his shirt a little to show the gun stuck in the waist of his jeans.
“Do you know how to use it?” he asked, and Garrett grinned wider.
“Does a bear shit in the woods?” He laughed and the other three laughed with him.
“Well, we better be heading on down to our campsite and get settled in before the snow starts up again.” he nodded and turned to go.
“You have visitors?” the one called Bobby asked, and India swore to herself.
Shit shit shit!
The garage door was slightly open and Liam’s truck could be seen through the door.
“Just my sister bringing us some supplies,” Garrett answered, “She will be leaving this morning to go back home.
The door opened and Kandis came out onto the porch, bundled up in her coat.
“Oh, hello,” she said with a smile and turned back to Garrett and India, “Everything packed and ready to go, I’ll have some coffee and be on my way.” she smiled again and India thought the ball breaking blonde actually looked kind of sweet and wholesome, who would have known that Kandis had acting skills.
“Well, lookie here,” Bobby was licking his lips again and India shuddered. “Always have been partial to blondes, especially beautiful ones.
“Kandis turned on the charm.
“Well, aren't you the sweetest thing, but my girlfriend is very jealous.” she lowered her voice as if sharing a secret with him and when Bree bounced out onto the step and linked her arm in Kandis’s his lip turned up in an ugly sneer and India clearly heard him mumble, ‘Fuckin’ dyke.
“Babe, we need to get on the road.” Bree played her part well and Kandis put an arm around her and they went back inside.
“Nice meeting you!” she called out over her shoulder.
They started to walk back to their vehicle and the older man apologized for disturbing them. Bobby watched India for a few moments and then turned and followed his friends.
“You folks have a nice day.”
They watched until the truck was out of sight and India could no longer smell the exhaust fumes and went back inside.
“I want to kill the fucking sleazy one first.” Kandis was furious and India had to agree, he was a sleaze and poor Bethany was chalk white.
“Get in line,” Garrett ground out, “I don’t need to be a mind reader to know what the bastard was thinking. I don’t think the other two have a hidden agenda, they are just buying into his ‘wolf pack’ lies. He is scum!”
“It would be better if we get these three as far away as possible in case they decide to come back anyway.” Liam said and Garrett agreed.
They packed up some food, drinks and blankets and Kandis brought the vehicle close to the front door, blocking anyone's view if they happened to be watching and helped Bethany, Zac and Sophia into the back seat. India couldn’t smell them, but it didn’t hurt to be cautious.
“Keep these blankets over your head until we tell you it’s clear.” Bree said as she got in the passenger seat and Kandis swung in behind the wheel.
“Sorry about the change of plan but if they are watching, they don’t need to see Liam driving.” Garrett said and Kandis nodded.
“We will let you know when we are safe and sure we aren’t being followed,” she nodded and drove off.
Liam stayed inside out of sight and Garrett and India sat on the rockers watching the taillights disappear around the corner.
“Well, I guess the honeymoon is finally over,” India whispered, and Garrett reached over and squeezed her hand.
“It will never be over, sweetheart, not for us.” He smiled, and her heart flip-flopped in her chest.
One word and a smile and she was putty in his hands. Surprisingly that didn’t bother her as much as she knew it should. Wolves were a little chauvinistic and they were extremely protective of their mates but the younger generation like Garrett and Seann were learning that their mates were their equals. Seann had even said that if he and Imogen’s baby was a girl that he would be training her to take over from him as alpha. It was a nice sentiment but there were still too many dyed in the wool traditionalists that wouldn’t let that happen.
They heard from Bree about an hour later that no-one was following them, and she breathed a sigh of relief. They would let them know when they arrived at the compound so, for now, they had to make a plan, to trap Bobby, the hunter who shot Bethany without harming the other two.
India had zero qualms about what they were going to do, and she wondered how many other people he had hurt that they didn’t know about. Some people were a complete waste of oxygen and Bobby was one of them.
Garrett grilled some steaks on the outdoor grill and Liam helped her clear up the cabin. All going well, they would be going home tomorrow. Garrett had said she could have ‘carte blanche’ with his cabin, decorate it any way she wanted to and she was excited to get on it, creating their very first home.
After dinner, she showered, packed and went to bed early. The cabin was cozy and warm, and she left Liam and Garrett sitting by the fire reminiscing about some of their trips in their younger days. She had a feeling Liam wanted to confide in him about Kandis and she cleared the way for them by going to bed. She drifted off easily enough but woke in the middle of the night with Garrett and Liam at the two windows watching behind the curtains and a blanket draped over the fireguard to cut out the light to keep them hidden.
“What’s going on?” she whispered and Garrett glanced at her, then turned his eyes back to the pitch-black outside.
“We have company. I caught his scent about an hour ago and he was close to the cabin. I think he is in the trees over there.” He pointed to the right of the cabin.
“Is it the one we want?” she asked, and he nodded.
“Yes, he is alone.”
“Why would he come up here alone? How stupid is that?” she said.
“He thinks there are only two of us here, two humans and he could easily surprise us as we sleep.”
“What does he want?” Garrett asked, “Does he like to just torture and kill little girls?”
“He wants me,” India said, slipping out of bed and crawling across to the window. “I sensed it when he was staring at me; he is a psychopath. He feels no remorse for the things he does, and he will never stop doing them until he is caught or we end his life.”
“Liam, slip out the back through the garage and shift. Go around and come up behind him and I will meet you out there in a few minutes. This ends tonight, India, stay inside and lock the doors, we won’t let him anywhere near you.”
“No, Garrett, I want to talk to him, find out if there are others like Bethany.” she said and was surprised when he nodded and said he would bring him here.
Liam was already gone and Garrett pulled her toward him, kissing her before slipping out through the same window, and she was left alone in the dark. She checked the bolts on the door and watched the darkness from behind the curtain, not feeling as brave as she had a few minutes ago.
CHAP
TER TWELVE
Garrett
He wanted so badly to refuse her request but also knew it was important to find out if he had attacked anyone else in the past. It was entirely possible that Bethany was the first, but Garrett knew his type, he had a taste of power and he would not be satisfied so easily next time. When Garrett had been assessing him before he thought he looked like every other guy apart from the dead, cold eyes. There was no warmth, no feeling, just nothing, nada!
He also knew India was right, he wanted her. For what reason they had yet to determine but Garrett hadn’t missed the interest when he had looked her up and down. He had liked the look of Kandis too until she pretended that she and Bree were lovers and Garrett had heard the nasty comments he made under his breath as he walked away.
He sensed Liam closing in from the other side as they crept up behind him. He was kneeling, watching the house but he wouldn’t see anything. Garrett, with his far superior vision, couldn’t even see India in the darkness but he knew she was there, peeking out from the window.
He was only a few feet away from him when their target stood up and skirted around the trees to get closer to the house. Garrett waited and watched him, just to see what he intended to do but when he climbed over the porch rail and crawled beneath the windows he knew he was planning to enter the house and probably murder Garrett in his sleep so that he had India alone and vulnerable. Except India was now a fully-fledged shifter and would easily beat down a human. But this particular one carried a firearm which he pulled from its holster and held by his side as he tried the door.
Garrett motioned for Liam to go back to the house and he followed his path to the front porch. He pulled back and aimed at the door lock and Garrett knew he had to act quickly to prevent him from getting inside.
He sprang over the rail and the hunter looked toward him in shock and raised the gun but he was far too slow and he screamed in pain as Garrett bared his teeth and bit down hard on his arm, he should have just finished him off there but he had promised India she could interrogate him first and he wouldn’t break his promise to her.
Liam came out through the door and kicked the gun away from him and dragged him inside the cabin, kicking and screaming as Garrett shifted back to his human form. India held out his pants and t-shirt and he quickly dressed before joining Liam who had the hunter face down on the floor.
“What the fuck do you think you are doing, I saw you change from a fucking wolf, you’re a fucking werewolf!” he screamed and hollered and Liam leaned over and punched him hard on the side of the face, he knocked him unconscious and the sudden quiet was soothing.
Garrett pulled one of the dining chairs into the center of the room and they hoisted the large man onto it and secured him with rope, he wasn’t going anywhere. He was out for about fifteen minutes and they waited patiently until he opened his eyes again. He looked at the two men and then glanced at India, his heart rate increased when he watched her. The sick bastard was aroused and Garrett was ready to rip out his throat right now, but India shook her head.
“We are not werewolves, we are shifters, there is a difference, but it won’t matter much to you. We met Bethany, the girl you shot in the back a few months ago, remember her? You thought she died but she didn’t, she survived and is now out of reach of your grubby little paws forever.”
Garrett expected him to deny all knowledge but instead, he grinned maniacally.
“She was begging for it and then changed her mind, fucking tease, she was all smiles and flirting and then I asked her to sit beside me and she got all fucked up and tried to run away from me. She got what she deserved.” he looked to Garrett to see if he had an ally but all he got was another punch in the face and he howled in pain.
“They are all the fucking same, man. Yours is no different, you wait and see.” he spat blood on the floor and looked at India in disgust. “She will fuck you over just like all the rest.
He hates women, India realized quickly, everything he does is about control over them and some sort of sick revenge, he obviously had a story, but she honestly didn’t care what it was.
“Why did you shoot Bethany in the back?”
“Because I could.” he grinned, “I will shoot you too after I fuck you.”
Garrett kicked him so hard that the chair flew across the room with him still attached and the ferocious growl coming from his chest scared even India.
“Just kill him and be finished with it.” Liam added, cracking his knuckles but India stood in front of him.”
“No, Garrett, you promised, I need to know if there are others.
She waited until he was lucid again and she pulled up a chair to sit in front of him.
“How many others have you shot or attacked?” she asked him calmly.
He just kept on smiling.
“She asked you a question,” Garrett ground out, “Answer her and I will kill you quickly. Otherwise I will drag it out over several days. I will torture you every single minute of every day until we get what we need, understand?” he grabbed his chin and forced him to look at him.
“I’m not afraid of you, you can’t just torture someone and get away with it, my friends will be looking for me, they will bring the cops right here to your door.”
Garrett hit him again and India pulled on his arm to step away.
“I think Bethany was probably his first, he doesn’t have the balls for it,” she winked at Garrett and Liam turned away to hide a smile, “Only a coward would shoot a girl in the back and then lie about a pack attacking him. Just get rid of him, there is no point in keeping him here.”
“That’s what you think, you dumb bitch. I strangled a girl in her own tent and burned it with her inside. Nobody had a clue, the cops assumed she knocked over her kerosene lamp which set everything alight, they were too lazy to check it out properly.”
Garrett could feel India’s anger, but she was keeping it firmly in check.
“You murdered an unarmed girl and shot another in the back. That doesn’t make you a tough guy, it makes you a cowardly asshole who is long overdue his punishment. What about the other two men, what part did they play in all of this?”
“None, they don’t have the stomach for the juicy stuff. They only want to hunt fucking animals,” he said with disgust and she knew that this time, at least, he was telling the truth. She had thought they were innocent of his crimes, but it was still a relief to hear it.
She stood directly in front of him and peeled off her t-shirt and bra, then shimmied out of her jeans and panties. His eyes lit up and he licked his fat lips and she could sense where his mind was going and swallowed down the bile in her throat.
“Untie him,” she demanded.
Garrett took his knife and cut the ropes holding his wrists and ankles together. As soon as his legs were free, he kicked out and caught her on the stomach with his foot, but she moved just in time and the blow landed softly.
“Just you and me, these two will stay out of it.” Her eyes never left his face.
“You like it rough, baby?” He laughed, and she shut her fist and smashed it into his nose. Blood splattered everywhere and he roared in pain.
“She’s a fucking psycho!” he screamed and wiped at his face with his t-shirt, and India got up in his face and smiled.
“You haven’t seen anything yet, but hold on, Bobby. This is going to get fun really quickly.”
His eyes roamed her naked body, but she didn’t care, she could smell his anxiety levels peak and nodded to the two men still flanking him.
Liam and Garrett gave them a wide berth and India took a step back as Bobby rose to his feet, thinking he was going to have the advantage over this petite woman.
India raised her head and smiled at him and then fell onto all fours and shifted in seconds. He staggered backward as the red wolf advanced on him and he didn’t stand a chance as her jaws opened wide and she went for the jugular. She clamped down hard, tearing at his flesh, his screams renting the air until he lay sti
ll on the wooden floor, blood oozing from his gaping wounds.
She raised her head and howled mournfully; her muzzle wet with his blood. She did what she had to do to rid the world of an evil predator, she had made her first kill. She shifted back and stared at the bloody mess on the floor as Garrett’s strong arms came around her and she leaned into him for strength.
“Take me home, Garrett,” she whispered.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
India
She was wrapped in a quilt in the back seat with Garrett’s arms around her and glanced back at the cabin as they set off down the drive. She felt strangely detached from what happened in the middle of the night and thought by this time she may be having major regrets about what went down, but she had none. He deserved to die for the things he had done, and she had appointed herself judge, jury and executioner.
Garrett and Liam had cleaned up the mess in record time and had burned the body along with the blood-stained fireplace rug. They found his crossbow and a knife behind the tree he had been watching the house from. They were destroyed, too, and the ashes were buried deep in the forest this morning.
The cabin reeked of bleach, but the alternative was much worse and India knew she would never come back here. She would always see his body lying there and for that alone, she felt guilty. Garrett said Seann would probably sell it and buy another, maybe a larger one.
They stopped at the side of the road and Liam hiked into the camp to tell the other two hunters that the wolves had been spotted heading further north. When he told them, he got the news from one of the park rangers they actually looked relieved and said they were packing up to go home.
“Where is the other guy, my friends said there were three of you?” he asked innocently, and the older man shook his head.
“Don’t know and don’t rightly care, son. He is bad news, that one. I only come along to make sure Bud here wasn’t getting led astray. There is something seriously wrong with that boy, but I reckon we won’t be seeing him again.”
“Oh,” Liam said, holding his breath, “Why’s that?”
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