by Dena Christy
He reached for the blanket he kept folded at the foot of the bed and he pulled it up over her. She snuggled down deep into it, sighing his name and he stood there watching her for a long time. Finally, he turned, walked to the door and shut off the light in his bedroom.
He couldn’t be in love with her, could he? It felt like it and it scared him to death. This wasn’t how this was supposed to go. He didn’t do love, love was messy, and it hurt when it ended. God, he’d only just gotten a reminder of that by looking at those pictures with Honor earlier.
He walked into the bathroom and braced his hands on the counter and looked in the mirror. The truth was there. He could see it all, his love for Honor and his fear that he wasn’t good enough. He hadn’t been good enough for Rachel and Honor was ten times the woman she was.
With a sound of disgust, he turned away from the mirror and walked out of the bathroom. The urge to get away, to run, was so strong that he quickly went down the stairs. Sweat broke out on his body, and his breathing was heavy as panic took hold of him. He burst out the back door, and the air was cold on his naked skin. His wolf took over his body quickly, as fear pumped inside him. Once in his wolf form, he tore down the stairs and into the woods. But no matter how fast he ran, no matter how much he tried to deny it, he could not outrun the fear that now that he loved Honor, it was only a matter of time before he lost her.
14
Honor took the drinks on her tray to the table that had ordered them, her mind running in circles as she moved on autopilot. Just when she thought she had Rafe figured out, he threw her another curveball. It had been a few weeks since she’d collected some of her things from Mercy, and ever since seeing the photo album Rafe had been different. At first, she thought his behavior had been a one-off, and that going to the bar that night and making love after had solved whatever had been bothering him. But she’d woken alone in that big bed, and when she had gone looking for him she’d found him coming up the back porch after taking a run in the woods. His body had been covered in sweat, despite the cold temperature outside, and she felt real worry for him. He went back to bed with her, saying he was fine, but deep down she knew that he wasn’t.
He’d been quieter and withdrawn during the days that followed, leaving the house early in the morning, before she’d even woken up. When she’d asked him about it, he said he was going to Mason’s gym for a morning workout. If that was all it had been, perhaps she would have dismissed it as nothing.
But there was tension inside him as if he was waiting for something bad to happen. And although they still shared a bed, and he made love to her every night, even that was different. There was a desperation in him, almost as if he was afraid that something was going to take her away from him, and he was storing up moments with her in anticipation.
Maybe he had a feeling that things with Eden Creek would soon come to a head. Two more wolves and their families had fled to Cold Bay, asking for sanctuary. Things were rapidly spiraling out of control and even Mercy was starting to express fear over what was going to happen during the times Honor had spoken to her on the phone. Honor didn’t like that her friend was out there alone. And apparently, her boyfriend had obligations to his pack and hadn’t been to see her since that one weekend. Worry for Mercy weighed heavily on her, along with her worry for Rafe.
Honor looked around the bar, and while it seemed normal, tonight things felt different. There was a tension in the air, and while she couldn’t explain the source, she was certain that it was real. She walked away from the table and back toward the bar.
“Do you feel it?” She went behind the bar where Alex was standing with a frown on his face. At first, she felt silly for asking. Alex couldn’t feel what was going on. This feeling had to do with her and Rafe, nothing more.
“Yeah, I’m feeling something.” Surprise when through Honor and she directed her attention to Alex. This was not what she’d expected him to say. “Usually wolves aren’t this jumpy unless the moon is full but we have another week before that happens again. I don’t know what it is, but something’s happening or will soon.”
That was not reassuring. She would have just chalked it up to paranoia if she’d been the only one who felt that things were out of sorts tonight, but Alex felt it too. He didn’t strike her as one given to flights of fancy, so something must be coming.
She shivered and when Rafe walked in through the bar door, the first thing she felt was relief. If he was here then nothing bad could happen. Mason walked in the door behind him, and his scowl was as deep as Rafe’s was. Honor darted out from behind the bar and went up to him. She didn’t fail to notice that he didn’t smile when he saw her, and he refrained from touching her.
“Rafe, what’s going on?” She looked up at him, and she wanted to yell at him to stop being so cold. She didn’t know what was wrong with him but she’d just about had enough of the distance he was putting between them.
“I don’t know, but things are stirring up in Eden Creek. Mason and I need to talk to Logan so that we can be prepared if it spills over.” There was a deep scowl between his brows and she could see the worry on his face. She wanted to say something, anything to wipe that look away but she knew that there was nothing she could say. And then a thought struck her, one that made her forget how he’d been acting.
“Oh my God, Mercy’s in Eden Creek alone.” She could feel the blood drain from her face and she swayed for a second as the worry for her friend flooded her body. “I’ll never forgive myself if anything happens to her. If Barrett targets anyone it will be her, and it will be my fault. I should never have come here and involved any of you in this mess.”
For the first time in a week, Rafe touched her in a way that wasn’t intended to lead to sex. He took her by the arm and steered her into the back of the barroom where the pool table and pinball machine were. There was no one in there, and they had a modicum of privacy.
“I don’t want to hear you say that.” For the first time since they’d been together, Rafe shouted at her and she flinched. She didn’t know how it was possible, but the scowl on his face deepened for a second. He closed his eyes, raked this fingers through his hair and his face smoothed out a little when he opened his eyes back up again. “I’m sorry for yelling at you. None of this is your fault. I’m sure Mercy will be fine, but call her just in case. You’re not going to stop worrying until you know for sure that she’s okay.”
Honor reached into her back pocket and pulled out her phone. She quickly put in Mercy’s number and hugged herself with her free arm as she listened to the phone ring. Relief went through her for a second when Mercy answered the phone.
“Honor, are you okay?” There was fear in Mercy’s voice, and it sent the hairs on Honor’s arm standing on end.
“I was calling to ask you the same thing. Rafe says that things are bad in Eden Creek, and I just want to know that you’re safe.” Honor bit her lip and looked up at Rafe. He was as tense as she was, as tense as the whole bar was. It was like everyone was holding their breath, waiting for something awful to happen.
“I’m safe, the house is locked up tight and if anyone comes in they will get a face full of baseball bat. But I’m not Barrett’s target and never have been. It’s you he’s after. Are you at home?”
“No, I’m at Sawyer’s Place.” Honor’s heart picked up its pace and she clutched her phone. Would Barrett never stop? Surely he knew by now that there was no chance that he was going to get his hands on her.
“Good. Is Rafe with you? I need to talk to him.”
“Yeah, he’s right here.” Honor pulled the phone away from her ear and handed it to Rafe. “She wants to talk to you.”
Rafe frowned and took the phone from her. “Mercy, what’s going on? Are you safe?”
The muscle worked in Rafe’s jaw as he listened to Mercy speak. Honor swallowed hard when she saw the grim look cross his face.
“Yeah, I’ll tell Logan. Don’t worry about it, we can handle him. You stay where you are an
d I’ll have Honor call you when it’s all over.”
Rafe ended the call and handed the phone back to her. He spun on his heel and strode out of the back room.
“Rafe, what’s going on?” Honor hurried after him, and he glanced down at her as if he’d forgotten that she was there beside him. He stopped suddenly.
“Mercy said that Barrett and his boys have worked themselves up enough that they are coming to Cold Bay. I’m sure that things are about to come to a head. I have to talk to Logan but no matter what happens I want you to stay in the bar.”
“Rafe, what do you think is going to happen?”
“I don’t know, but you are not to step foot outside until it’s over.”
He pulled her to him and pressed a kiss on her forehead. She followed behind him when he walked up to the bar where Mason was standing talking to Alex. Mason’s face grew pale and a grim look that matched Rafe’s crossed his face as the two men turned and went to Logan’s office.
Honor went to the bar and stood close to Alex, worry gnawing at her gut.
“It’s going to be okay,” Alex spoke softly beside her as he handed her a glass of ice water. Her mouth was so dry that she was grateful for the drink. She downed it and set the glass on top of the bar when she was finished.
“How do you know?” If anything happened to any of the wolves in Cold Bay, she didn’t know if she could ever forgive herself.
“I know because Logan is ten times the alpha that Barrett is. He won’t let anything happen to his pack.”
She nodded. Logan was a much better alpha than Barrett was by a mile, but that didn’t mean that bad things didn’t sometimes happen to good people. Quinn was a prime example of that.
The door to Logan’s office opened and he came striding out with Rafe and Mason behind him. Logan stopped when he got to the bar and looked at the wolves that were in the room.
“Shit’s going to hit the fan. Get ready.”
Almost everyone in the bar room stood up in unison, their face’s tense. One by one they went out of the bar and into the parking lot. There they waited for their alpha to join them. Logan moved toward the door and Honor felt like she had to say something.
“Logan, I’m so sorry.” She knew that he’d gone out on a limb to offer the protection of his pack and that he hadn’t wanted to involve his pack in the trouble with Eden Creek. Now everything that he hadn’t wanted was happening, and she was what had brought it all to his doorstep.
Logan paused for a second, and when he turned to look back at her she expected to see anger on his face. But it wasn’t there. All she saw was the kindness that was always in his eyes when he interacted with her.
“I’ve told you before, this isn’t your fault. Barrett has chosen the path that he’s on right now, and only he can answer for it. Don’t worry, he’s not going to be a problem for much longer.”
Logan turned away and resumed his progress toward the door. Mason followed him out the door, and Honor expected Rafe to be right there with them. He stood there, looking at her for a second before turning his eyes to Alex.
“Keep her safe and if things don’t go the way we expect them to, get her as far away from here as possible.”
Alex nodded and moved away so that she could talk to Rafe in relative privacy. She didn’t know what she should say to him, so she said the one thing she wanted to be the outcome of all this.
“Be safe.”
“I will.” Rafe leaned down, kissed her softly on the mouth and she resisted the urge to cling to him and beg him not to go. But she knew that his place was with his alpha so she let him go and watched as he walked out the door.
Alex came to stand beside her and he handed her a shot of whiskey. She drank the shot quickly and felt its heat spread through her body.
“Better?”
“No. I won’t be better until this is over.”
The parking lot of Sawyer’s was silent as if the entire world was holding its breath in anticipation of the fight to come. Adrenaline pumped through Rafe’s veins as he stood in the middle of the parking lot with his alpha in front of him. Mason was beside him and he glanced over at his friend. Mason rolled his neck and his face was as serious as Rafe knew his was.
The other wolves that had been in the bar stood behind them and the tension in the air was so thick that Rafe could feel it weighing him down. He tried to keep his mind clear for the fight that was to come, but his head didn’t want to stop. He wasn’t worried that Cold Bay would lose this confrontation, Logan was a much stronger alpha and if it came down to a direct challenge, he would win.
He was worried about what would happen after the fight was over. Barrett Todd would be dealt with tonight, and one way or another he would no longer be a threat to Honor. There was a certain amount of satisfaction in knowing that Honor would be free of him. But where did that leave them? She was no longer compelled to stay with him, and while she might be grateful to him for offering his protection, they’d never discussed what would happen in the future.
The same old fear that had coursed through him the other night came back to choke him. He had wanted to tell her that he loved her, but the fear wouldn’t let him. Because what would happen if he told her, and she didn’t feel the same way? He’d been foolish years ago and had thought that loving someone was enough to get them to stay. It had been a hard lesson for him to realize how naïve he’d been. He wouldn’t let himself be vulnerable because that was just asking to get his heart stomped on. If it came to it, once this confrontation was over he would let Honor go and he would go back to his normal life, the life he had before she’d come into it.
He buried his feelings down deep as lights appeared in the dark, coming toward the bar. Now was not the time to think about what was going to happen later. All his focus needed to be on what would be happening right now. Several vehicles pulled into the parking lot, with horns honking and the wolves inside howling out the windows.
Logan looked back at him and Mason. “Nice of them to announce themselves. Get ready.”
Rafe nodded as he folded his arms across his chest. Mercy had been right when she’d told him that the Eden Creek wolves had worked themselves up into a frenzy in order to come here and challenge Cold Bay. Too bad it wouldn’t help them.
One particularly vicious-looking wolf, with scars on his face, burst out of his car, with a baseball bat in hand. He looked vaguely familiar to Rafe, but he couldn’t think of his name, and in the next few seconds it didn’t matter. The wolf had an evil smile on his face and he was headed straight for Logan with his bat ready. To his credit, Logan didn’t flinch or back away, but as the enforcer, it was Rafe’s job to protect his alpha, and he charged forward with a snarl on his face.
He loomed in front of the wolf as he swung his bat. Rafe reached his hand out and the wood of the bat smacked against his palm. In one continuous movement, Rafe gripped the bat, yanked it out of the wolf’s hand and the wood slid in his hand so that he gripped the base of the bat. Rafe swung it like he was attempting a home run. It connected with the side of his adversary’s face, and the wolf fell to the ground. He moaned and clutched at his face, and Rafe knew that this was at least one wolf who was out of this.
He looked up as the rest of the wolves, close to a dozen, poured out of their vehicles and charged at him, howling with rage. With the bat cocked up and over his shoulder, he waited for them to come to him. Behind him, he could hear the Cold Bay wolves snarling as they charged forward.
Rafe swung the bat at the first guy to charge him, and the dude ducked. Rafe tossed the bat aside and raised his fists. It would be much more satisfying to fight hand to hand than to use a weapon. His fist flew out and connected with his opponent's jaw, sending him back. Another wolf came at him from the side and he bent his arm and swung his elbow out and connected with his face.
A red haze clouded Rafe’s vision as his more animal nature came to the fore, and soon he was operating on instinct. He didn’t see how many faces he hit, all he felt wa
s the connection of fists with flesh and bone. All he knew was that he was in a fight for his pack, for his alpha, and he moved like a machine, eliminating every threat that came toward him.
The haze cleared, and he found himself kneeling on the ground, slamming his fists into his unconscious opponent’s face, over and over.
“Rafe, it’s over.” Logan grabbed him by the arm and Rafe stopped lashing out. He got to his feet and stood beside his alpha. His hands hurt, his face hurt but as he looked around, satisfaction went through him when he saw that the only Eden Creek wolf left standing was Barrett Todd.
The alpha of Eden Creek was pale and Rafe could see the fear in his eyes. Logan squared off against him, and Rafe moved back so that his alpha was in front.
“Well, Barrett. Your goons were unable to do your dirty work, so why don’t you man up and challenge me. The winner takes both packs.”
If it was possible, Barrett’s face got even paler. He had to know that there was no way he could beat Logan in a fair fight, which was why he’d tried to take him out with his goon squad.
More lights came from the direction of Eden Creek, and for a moment Rafe thought a second wave of wolves were going to come to help their alpha. And apparently, Barrett thought so too since his face grew smug again.
The parking lot was still as everyone standing there waited to see what would happen when vehicle after vehicle pulled into the parking lot. Wolves started to get out and Rafe was surprised to see Mercy get out of the passenger side of someone’s car. He realized what was about to happen and he couldn’t keep the smile off his face.
Slowly, members of the Eden Creek pack, those who weren’t in Barrett’s pocket, walked forward. But instead of standing behind their alpha, they walked past him as if he didn’t exist and they came to stand with the Cold Bay wolves. Once everyone was settled, an older wolf stepped forward so that he was facing Barrett.
