Wolf Moon (Wolf Ridge Book 1)

by Jayne Hawke

  “Don’t you dare give up on me, Rosalyn,” Cole growled, back in his human form.

  I pushed myself up to standing on wobbly legs. Giving up wasn’t something I did. The fire was licking at my ribs and the pain consumed my mind, but I walked. Step by agonising step, I followed Cole into his kitchen.

  He scooped me up into his arms and gently placed me on his kitchen table, where he had a salve prepared.

  “This is going to hurt.”

  That was all the warning I got before pain so severe my vision blurred and darkness burst from my leg.

  “I’m going to help you shift back.”

  He pressed his hand to my cheek, and I felt my body breaking and shifting. The pain was barely noticeable this time, but I didn’t know if that was due to the wolfsbane in my system. His calloused hands gently pressed against my upper thigh where the arrow had struck. Delicate touches with something soft and cool brushed away the pain and left me able to breathe again.

  “Blackthornes?” I asked.

  He nodded and brushed my sweat-matted hair out of my eyes with a sad smile.

  “Yes.”

  He helped me sit up with a strong arm around my shoulders and a lot of patience.

  “You’re staying here tonight.”

  I didn’t have it in me to argue.

  He handed me some left-over fried chicken, and I ate it as though I hadn’t eaten in weeks. I didn’t notice the taste or texture, only the way it helped make me feel sort of alive again.

  Cole hooked his finger under my chin and made me look up at him.

  “I am trying to protect you.”

  In that moment, with the moonlight shining through the window making him look almost angelic, I believed him.

  41

  I woke up in a strange room. It took me a minute to remember everything that had happened. Pulling the blankets back, I looked down at my upper thigh and found there wasn’t a mark there. I was wearing one of Cole’s t-shirts. He’d been a gentleman and made sure that I didn’t show any skin I wasn’t entirely happy with. The rest of the night had been a blur. I remembered lots of food and gentle touches.

  Groaning, I rubbed my temples and tried to get my head straight. The hunters had come out of nowhere. A thought struck me. Had Cole planned that? It gave him the opportunity to save me and get me to stay with him. Or could it have been Valentin? The rogue could clearly think and plan, and there was a chance that Valentin had already shot me with wolfsbane once.

  I needed to do some more digging into the possibilities. A knock came from the door.

  “I bring breakfast.”

  Breakfast in bed, I hadn’t had that since I was a little girl home from school sick.

  “I’m decent,” I said, tucking my legs back under the blankets.

  Cole came in with a tray of freshly made pancakes slathered in syrup, just how I liked them.

  “How’re you feeling?” He placed the tray on my lap.

  “Not too bad, thanks.”

  “You should move in here. I can keep you safe.”

  I glared at him while biting into the fluffy and rich pancakes. The maple syrup had a hint of cinnamon in it, which complimented the light vanilla of the pancakes. I was in heaven. He’d dropped that on me out of the blue. The fact he said it so casually only increased the sensation of a noose around my neck. The way he was pushing to control me really wasn’t sitting well.

  “No,” I finally said.

  He huffed.

  “You are the most infuriating woman. I am offering you your own room here where you can be safe and I can train you.”

  “And I’m saying no,” I said sweetly.

  Once again, I wondered if he’d planned this entire thing. There I was, injured, vulnerable, and he was ready with the push to make me move in with him where he could take complete control.

  “The Blackthornes are dangerous, and they aren’t the only threat in the area.”

  “You mean the rogue,” I said flatly.

  “Yes, amongst other things.”

  “Such as?”

  He glared at me.

  “You won’t need to pay any bills.”

  “I already said no.”

  “You are my shadow,” he growled.

  I gave him a flat look. It hadn’t taken all that long to push that point.

  “I’m happy in my apartment.”

  And I didn’t trust him, or myself around him. My wolf was determined to make him back down. The bliss of the run had erased that feeling temporarily, but it was there in the back of my mind. The urge to push and challenge him.

  “The same apartment you share with a fae. A fae who has assassins trying to kill him. The very same apartment that has no protections and leaves you vulnerable to all sorts of enemies?”

  Was that a threat?

  “It is my home,” I growled.

  “You are ridiculously stubborn.”

  I wolfed down the last of my pancakes and looked around for my clothes. Cole stalked out of the room, leaving me to get dressed in peace. I found my shirt under the bed and my shorts, blood stained but wearable, sat on the chest of drawers. I changed into them, leaving Cole’s t-shirt neatly folded on the bed.

  I stepped out into the wide hallway with expensive-looking hardwood floors. The walls were painted an off-white that made the space look bright and airy. Large windows sat at either end of the hallway, and five other doors sat closed. Cole wasn’t within sight, so I thought I’d have a quick look around and see if there was anything worth finding about him. I began by trying to open the door directly opposite mine. It was locked. This wasn’t going quite as well as I’d planned. I moved onto the next door to the right. That one swung open to reveal an opulent bathroom complete with large claw-foot bathtub and a wet-room area with a large pancake showerhead. I had to admit, it would be nice to enjoy a little luxury. It was a shame that dealing with Cole was the price I’d have to pay.

  A quick look through the bathroom revealed nothing. The cupboard was empty, and I didn’t see anything else worth poking at. The next door was locked again. So much for me looking around and exploring. I crouched down and looked at the lock. It seemed like a reasonably simple one. I might be able to pick it with the right tools.

  “Do not enter that room,” Cole snarled from behind me.

  His reaction was so much stronger than I expected. I stood slowly and looked at him as he slowly pulled his wolf back under control. So, if I were to live with him, it would be a small, albeit pretty cage. Just as I’d suspected.

  I walked around him.

  “Like I said. I’m just peachy in my apartment.”

  He growled.

  “You’ll be killed if you stay there. And do not run in the woods alone.”

  “I’m a big girl. I can look after myself.”

  He looked pointedly at my thigh where I’d been shot.

  “You’d have died if I wasn’t there last night.”

  I was getting tired of this. My instincts to have a pack rippled in the back of my mind, but being around him was exhausting. I could survive on my own.

  “Did you set that up last night? How exactly did the hunters find us?”

  He looked stunned before he composed himself.

  “Why on earth would I try and get you killed?”

  “To make me move in with you.”

  “You’re being ridiculous. Have you heard yourself, Rosalyn?”

  “Just take me home.”

  “Fine.”

  He handed me my shoes once we were downstairs, and we stepped out into the rainstorm that had formed while I was getting them on.

  “I am trying to keep you safe, Rosalyn. I don’t understand why you won’t get that into your head.”

  Because something wasn’t adding up, and I wasn’t taking any risks until I understood what was really going on.

  42

  There was still no word from Jake. The empty apartment was eating at me. I was an introvert; being alone didn’t usually bug me
at all. As long as I had music, TV, and baking, I was completely happy to spend a few days locked away from the world. That morning, though, the need to be around pack ate at me. It was an itch that unfurled in the back of my mind, and nothing I did could cure it. I’d tried striking up a few conversations with garou on the Grim, but no one wanted to talk to me.

  I desperately needed to be around someone I could trust and relax around. Ideally a garou, but I was reaching the point where I wasn’t all that fussy. The feeling had hit me like a freight train out of the blue. It must have been where I was a full-fledged garou now that I’d had my first shift. Cole should have warned me about it, but I hadn’t really made it easy for him to tell me all the little details.

  I couldn’t go back to Cole with my tail between my legs. Sighing, I picked up my phone and composed a text to Valentin. If he was the rogue, then I needed to find out and gather evidence. The fact that he was a garou and might be able to ease the unbearable feeling was a happy coincidence.

  Valentin replied quickly, and we were on for a coffee at Toil and Trouble. There were a couple of hours to kill between now and then. As much as the urge to pace around the kitchen was strong, I refused to submit to that. I continued to skim through the Grim, looking for anything I could use. The council was going to start getting very snappy about my complete lack of progress on the rogue soon. It was supposed to have been an easy job. Now, it was looking like some complicated political plot that I’d have to unravel and prove.

  I realised that if a witch was controlling the rogue, that meant a witch had chosen to turn me. It also meant they were working with the fae, given the fae had distracted me and gotten me outside. I chewed on my bottom lip, trying to figure out why someone would go to that much effort to turn me. As far as I was aware, I was a pretty standard garou. Cole certainly hadn’t said anything about my being special. He was determined to control me, though. I shook my head. Everyone wanted to be special. I was over-thinking everything.

  I wished it was like on TV, where they had some awesome library that had all the information they needed to know. Or at least a reliable and friendly mentor who had all of the answers. Instead, I was stuck with Cole.

  When I couldn’t focus on the Grim anymore, I passed the time doing some yoga to try and work on that calm and control that I so desperately needed. I felt as though I could hold the wolf side back, but I wasn’t sure. That was a big risk to take, especially when I was going to be around lots of other people.

  It was finally time to leave the apartment and head over to meet Valentin. I forced myself to walk at a nice relaxed pace and enjoy the bright sunny day. It took a lot of effort, but I felt as though I was in control of myself when Toil and Trouble came into view. I wasn’t going to allow the wolf side to run rampant.

  The pin pricks didn’t happen when I walked into Toil and Trouble that time. It must have remembered me from last time, which was a relief. I really wasn’t ready to endure that pain every time I wanted to relax with a supernatural friend.

  A small group of shifters was sitting in the booth I’d shared with Amy last time. They paused their conversation and all looked at me with their golden eyes. Soft brown markings began forming on the closest shifter’s face. Cougar shifters. Pure cougars were solitary animals, but shifters were far more comfortable in small groups. It was the human side; it was too social to live the solitary life of their predatory side. Valentin had chosen the booth next to them, and it seemed he’d already ordered for me.

  I ignored the way the cougars watched me. Their eyes bored into me and made it difficult to remain relaxed. I desperately wanted to flash my teeth and make them back down, but it wasn’t the time for that.

  I sat down in the booth with Valentin and looked at the blood-red drink before me.

  “You sounded as though you needed a drink,” Valentin said with a smile.

  He was absolutely correct. I didn’t normally drink that early in the day, but a bit of alcohol was very much appreciated in that moment.

  He reached across the table and put his hand on mine. To my irritation, I found it was easy to relax under his touch. My wolf side pushed me to edge closer to him. It was so content to be near him again.

  “I’m a good listener,” Valentin said.

  I took a sip of the rich and tangy red drink, which was apparently a cocktail with a lot of alcohol in it. Reminding myself that I was here to gather evidence on his being the rogue, I tried to pull together a suitable answer. I told him my concerns over controlling my wolf side, that it wanted to push forward. I also hinted that I was worried about Cole and watched his expression as I did so. A spark of something formed in his eyes... victory?

  “Everything you’re feeling is completely natural.” He took a sip of his own golden drink. “You need to focus on one thing at a time, though. What do you know about Cole and the rogue? And are you sure that Jake only recently unbound his magic? Didn’t you say that assassins had been getting close to him prior to that?”

  He was trying to separate me from my friends and those who could offer me help. His tone was so gentle and caring, it would have been easy to fall into.

  Valentin’s thumb circled over the back of my hand, brushing away some tension and drawing me into looking into his eyes. I needed to act as though I was falling for this and lull him into a false sense of security so that he’d slip up.

  “Jake’s sidhe, correct?”

  “Cait sidhe and sidhe hybrid.”

  Valentin’s lips pursed and he pulled his hand away, leaving me feeling cold and adrift.

  “Sidhe have complicated magic. There’s a possibility that he transformed himself and is in fact the rogue. It would explain the oddities in the kills and the fact he couldn’t find a life essence there. He wouldn’t tell you that only his essence was there.”

  My stomach twisted. He was really pushing the point of those close to me being dangerous and potentially the rogue. I knew that Jake wasn’t the rogue; it made no sense.

  “From what you’ve said, he clearly loves you, and that could have been an attempt to allow you to be together without his worrying. Then he realised that he can’t be with a garou, not if he’s to become a prince, and he’s been wracked with guilt since.”

  I bit the inside of my cheek. Jake and I had been like brother and sister. There wasn’t a chance in Hell that he wanted something romantic. This was just Valentin covering his ass and trying to reel me into his arms.

  I took a big gulp of the drink, barely registering the bite and burn of the alcohol as it slid down my throat. The best thing I could do was to play along and try to act as though I believed him. Acting had never been my strong suit, but I was going to try. My only other option was to fail and have the council throw me in a deep dark pit.

  A pair of the cougar shifters from the booth next to ours strutted up to our table with sneers on their faces.

  “You that turned wolf?” the older cougar with a buzz cut said to me.

  “What of it?” I growled.

  The last thing I was in the mood for was some pushy cougars getting in my face.

  He grinned at me and allowed his teeth to shift into their sharper feline form.

  “We don’t like your kind around here.”

  I rolled my eyes and stood up. Maybe a good fight was just what I needed.

  43

  The other two cougars came over to see what was going on. Valentin remained seated, watching as I squared up to four toned, blond cougar shifters, each in their late twenties or early thirties with sharpened teeth and claws. The shadows of their cougar markings bloomed on their cheekbones and brought out the clear gold in their eyes. The leader was broader with the sleeves on his shirt rolled up to reveal muscular forearms.

  “You should run while you still can,” he said with a sneer.

  I smiled sweetly and allowed that sweet rage that I’d been holding back for weeks to rise. His eyes went wide as my fist connected with his jaw. The soft familiar pain that formed in my kn
uckles felt far better than it should have. I was lost to the motions of the fight, the feel of pain rising and dulling as my body healed and we continued on with blood dripping and teeth bared.

  The cougars fought with feline grace and efficiency. They flowed around each other without sparing so much as a glance. Their intensity would usually have sent a shiver down my spine, but in that moment I relished it as much as the sound of breaking bones and gasps of air being driven from their lungs. A bottle flew through the air and collided with the leader’s temple. He turned and snarled at the barman, who was shouting at us to obey the rules.

  No one had told me about any rules. I ducked under a swift punch and drove my own fist into the lower abdomen of the leanest of the cougars. Blood was smeared around his mouth where I’d broken his jaw a few minutes ago. His eyes were cold and hard with blood lust that I knew was echoed in my own. Valentin had joined the fight at some point. He was fierce and aggressive. My wolf side appreciated watching the savagery with which he fought. He swept the legs out from under the taller older cougar and stamped down on his knee with a satisfying crunch.

  The cougars were growing tired and more vicious. Their claws sliced through Valentin’s and my clothes and flesh, sending blood spraying over the dark wood. I returned the favour and slashed at their vulnerable stomachs with my own claws. The desire to stop playing and end them entirely was beginning to grow. I quelled that, not wanting to become it.

  It was all over in the blink of an eye. A small woman with pointed ears and crystalline blue eyes was suddenly standing in the middle of the brawl.

  “Sorry, Sylvia,” the cougar leader said, keeping his eyes low.

  The fae woman looked at each shifter in turn, watching as they bowed their heads and backed away.

  “You’ve had your fun, now leave,” she said sharply to us.

  Guilt overcame me. I should have known better than to indulge in those instincts. I’d never gotten into a bar fight before.