Once more the thought of being in such close contact with him had my cheeks heating up. My imagination ran wild as I thought of clenching my thighs against him. I laughed to hide my embarrassment. “I would never expect you to carry me!”
“I wouldn't mind.”
The statement sent shivers down my spine. Raising my eyes to meet his, I found him watching me already. My cheeks flamed even more. Stupid hormones. Maybe I could look up a spell to douse them in frigid water every time they threatened to get out of control. If I was going to practice witchcraft, I should at least learn something useful.
“You might change your tune once you find out how heavy I am.” I raised my eyebrows in a teasing challenge.
“Oh yeah? You think so? I think not.”
Before I could answer, he reached out and snatched me up as if I were no more than a doll, tossing me over his shoulder in a fireman's carry. I sucked in my breath as I realized it gave me the perfect vantage point to admire his ass, all while giggling uncontrollably. I clenched my fist to keep from reaching down and pinching his denim-clad cheeks.
His hands splayed across the backs of my legs, the warmth of them burning through my jeans and making me aware of exactly their size and shape as they kept me from falling. His fingertips just brushed the sensitive area at the inside of my thighs. My self-control was fast disappearing.
I swatted at him, demanding to be put down as he began striding down the trail. “You can't just carry me around like a piece of furniture!”
“Well, it looks to me like I can, actually.” His hands tightened on my legs, giving them a gentle squeeze.
The sensation almost made me forget how to breathe.
“Where are we going? This is kidnapping. You can't do this.”
“I believe it's only kidnapping if the person doesn't want to go.”
“Maybe I don't?” The temptation to sink my teeth into him was going to get the better of me if he didn't put me down soon, and then we'd really find ourselves in a situation.
“Yes, you do. Trust me.”
“If you don't put me down, I am going to bite you. I'm not kidding.”
His laughter shook me even more than his walking did. “Go ahead, sassy pants. Just remember, I bite back.”
I choked on my response. Did I dare? I wanted to so badly. But I barely knew him. What was I thinking? On the other hand, he practically invited me to do it. Maybe he wanted me to? Was that a challenge? Because I had never been one to back down from a challenge. Before I could make up my mind, he grabbed my waist and swung me back upright, setting me gently on the ground.
I'd missed my chance. Shit. Damn it. Fuck. Something told me leaning over and biting him now wouldn't have nearly the same effect.
“I thought we could go to the village, and I'd take you to meet the rest of my pack. I've told them about you, and maybe we can get some of your questions answered.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Meet his pack? His family and friends and the people he was in charge of keeping safe? Was I ready for this? What would they think of me? What if they didn't like me?
“Hello? Earth to Leah?”
“Oh! Yeah. I mean, yes?”
“Are you okay with that? Do you want to go and meet the rest of the pack? Maybe get to know some of them a little bit?”
“Today? Like, now?”
He burst out laughing. “Did you need to check your schedule? Should I make an appointment for later this week? I know you've been incredibly busy these last couple days.”
Swatting him lightly on the arm, I couldn't help but grin. My concern, however, tempered the grin. “I'm not dressed for this. I didn't even really do my hair this morning. What if they don't like me?”
“Why wouldn't they love you? Besides, I have a surprise for them. Nobody else knows I have my ability to shift back. Once I show them that it is possible, and they know you are the one responsible for this miracle, they will adore you.”
“Oh God... What if I can't do it for them? It took everything I had to do it for you, and that was with all your strength helping me. Then they'll hate me.”
“Leah.” He threw his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close. “They won't hate you. You helped me the hard way, by forcing it. When you manage to reverse the curse, they will all get their ability to shift back, and they will love you for it. I know they will.”
Still, I hesitated. Insecurity raised its ugly head, hammering into me. Unsure of why I cared so much what they thought of me, I just somehow knew that if they didn't accept me, it would be infinitely harder to do the things I needed to do for the sanctuary. They knew my aunt and loved her. The need to make her proud settled deep within me. Which I couldn't do if I avoided the community she dedicated almost her entire life to serving and protecting.
“Okay. Let's do this.”
“You sound like you think I am about to throw you into an active volcano.” He stopped walking and looked into my eyes. “We don't have to if you don't want to.”
“No, I want to. I'm just incredibly nervous for some reason.” I inhaled sharply. “What they think of me is important to me. Usually the opinions of others don't matter to me. At all. But, this sanctuary and those who live here were my Aunt's life work. She died trying to make things right for them. I don't want to let her, or you, or them, down.”
He grabbed my hand and began walking down the trail once more. “Look at all you have already done for me. You could never let me down. And we both know Aimee is incredibly proud of you already, no matter what happens here. Nothing you could do would change that. As for the pack, they may be disappointed if you can't help them, but they would understand. This curse, and the evil that has perpetuated it, is so strong. But I know you can do it. I can feel it. You have the crescent mark. The sanctuary chose you.”
Pulling my hand from his grasp, I turned it over and stared at the mark on my palm. The odd combination of birthmark and scar stood out against my pale flesh. Isaiah seemed to understand that I needed some quiet time to soothe my thoughts.
“I am going to return to my wolf form so we can surprise them.”
I stared at him. “Should I turn my back?”
He laughed. “It's not like getting naked, you can watch if you want.”
The thought of seeing him naked made my face flame. I seemed to blush more often than usual when I spent time with him. Our eyes met, and he winked. As I watched the air around him seemed to waver, and he folded in upon himself. One second he stood before me on two legs, and in the next his dark gray wolf had replaced him. We continued to walk as I processed what I had just seen.
Time passed as we traversed the trail, Isaiah answering my questions as they came to mind. From one step to the next, the mark began to ache and itch, stopping me in my tracks. This only happened when magic was nearby. I look around at the forest, seeing nothing.
Isaiah stopped next to me. “What's wrong?”
“My mark, it's aching. That means there is magic nearby.”
He nodded. “We are at the border of the village.”
My eyebrows raised. I saw no village. Or anything but trees, for that matter.
“Our homes are hidden by an illusion. Once you cross the border for the first time, it will no longer be hidden to you, but it is to protect us. To all outsiders the peninsula looks to be devoid of any inhabitation, aside from your aunt's home, whether they come by air, land or sea. Watch.”
He leaned against me for a second, my hand resting on his back, the contact soothing the ache in the mark. Together we walked another thirty feet and suddenly stood at the edge of a small cluster of homes and buildings. My feet once more refused to keep moving as I stared at the scene in front of me.
The wolves in view all sat or stood staring our direction. My nerves returned tenfold. I heard him call out to the pack in my head, asking all of them to meet us at the central park. As we approached it, I saw a wide expanse of lawn, perfect for gatherings. Isaiah led me to the center while we wait
ed for the others to join us. I felt like a goldfish in a bowl.
He somehow knew when everyone had joined us and began to speak.
“All of you knew Aimee. This is her niece, Leah, whom I have been speaking of to you recently. Leah has come to help us rid the sanctuary of the evil that has plagued our pack for years.”
Snippets of the conversations among the wolves registered in my head, but I was unable to catch all of it. Some of the wolves sounded excited. Others did not believe that I had any chance of helping them. Isaiah gave them a minute to talk before continuing.
“I know there are some of you who do not believe she is capable. I disagree. To that end I would like to share something with you. Something that may change your mind.”
He waited for complete silence before looking at me one last time. My breath caught in my chest as I waited. Again I watched the air wrinkle around him and he stood before me in his human form once more. The cacophony of disbelief was instantaneous and deafening.
Isaiah took my hand as the wolves left their positions and began to crown around us. The din in my head of their conversations was overwhelming. Suddenly, a snarl came from our left.
Turning towards the angry wolf that stalked toward us, Isaiah tugged me closer, putting himself between the black animal and me. “Adam, what is the problem here?”
The other wolves stared at him, some seeming to be on his side. While we waited for a response Isaiah informed me that Adam was his beta, what the wolves called the second in command.
“How do we know she is not the one who created this evil? That would make it easy for her to remove it just for you. What proof do you have that we can trust her?”
My legs turned to jello at the idea that some of them thought I might be responsible for the terrible things that had been happening. Of all my concerns in coming to meet the pack, that one had never crossed my mind.
Adam continued to snarl as he advanced our way. “I will not accept that you choose to endanger our pack by bringing her into our midst.”
Isaiah stood tall. “That is enough. She damn near killed herself doing it, and that was with all my alpha power behind her trying to help.” He took a deep breath and tempered his tone. “While I understand some of you are wary, and rightfully so, I will not tolerate you accusing her of being the evil. Would you be making these accusations if Aimee stood before you by her side? Aimee gave her life trying to help us, and this is how you would treat her niece, who came to attempt to finish what her aunt started?”
Many of the wolves murmured in agreement, some hanging their heads sheepishly. Others moved through the crowd to stand near the wolf called Adam. I heard a number of apologies given. I also heard other grumbles about whether Isaiah was fit to lead if he was so easily convinced to trust an outsider.
The power in Isaiah's voice flowed over me as he began to speak again. “As your alpha, it is both my right and my duty to make decisions for this pack. While I will never try to tell you who to trust, I will ask that you give her a chance. You should all know that she is under my protection. If any of you would like to challenge that, you are welcome to do so now.”
His eyes bored into Adam's as he spoke. The other wolf struggled to meet his gaze, but was unable to hold it. Refusing to look at the ground in submission, he turned and looked out into the houses as Isaiah sighed.
“I will not remain beta to an alpha who cannot place his pack above his own gain. I'm done here.”
Adam loped off, four others following him as they left the village the opposite way of where we had come in. Guilt swamped me again, but Isaiah squeezed my hand and used our private communication path to tell me not to worry about it, that he would deal with it later.
On the community channel he issued an invitation. “Those of you who wish to come and get to know Leah, please do. She would love the chance to get to know you as well.”
A small group turned and left the lawn without acknowledging me. Others came up and introduced themselves, many expressing sorrow at losing my aunt. I apologized ahead of time that many of them would have to tell me their names more than once for them to stick.
“I'm just terrible at remembering names, I'm so sorry. It's one of those things that I haven't been able to cure about myself.”
For those that stuck around, I gave them a brief version of what had happened since we came to the sanctuary, answering what questions I could and doing my best to reassure them that I would do everything in my power to help them.
Sometime later Isaiah asked if I was ready to go. “There's some place I'd like to take you if you're up for it?”
We said our goodbyes to the rest of the pack, and I promised to return soon. One of the females stayed behind for an extra minute. Her name was Shelby.
“Thank you. For everything you've done so far. I hope when you come back we can get to know each other better; I'd love to be friends.”
Hope bloomed. “I would love that. I really would.”
She loped away as Isaiah began leading me away from the settlement. “That didn't go as badly as I had expected. Except for the one guy.”
He gave me a grin. “I told you. Although I'm sorry not all of them were welcoming. Adam will come around. I have no doubt he'll come back to talk to me and we can work it out. If not, that's his choice.”
We talked as we walked, Isaiah telling me more about pack life and how the evil had affected every aspect of life within the sanctuary. The pack always believed the magic that created the sanctuary had been the strongest in existence, so when the evil was able to take over many of them were left hopeless.
There had been no births since the curse, since wolf shifters gave birth to human infants that then learned to shift as they matured. My heart broke for them. The wolves believed in a goddess that protected them, and many of them had lost their faith when their pleas for help went unanswered.
“Our homes have been protected all this time, never changing in spite of the fact that we can no longer maintain them the way we did before, and we remain hidden from the outside world, but for some reason the Goddess cannot overcome the curse.”
Struggling with the idea that I needed to do something even a goddess could not, I said a prayer of my own for the strength I would need to be successful. My thoughts were interrupted by Isaiah telling me to close my eyes.
I glanced at him before doing as he asked. He led me by the hand, repeating to keep my eyes closed until he told me to open them. Of course, as was my way, I tripped over absolutely nothing, thankful he managed to keep me upright. After walking blindly for a length of the trail, he tugged me to a stop.
“Okay, open them.”
We stood at the edge of a sandy beach. The tiny cove mimicked the shape of the crescent moon, protecting the little bay from the rougher ocean waters, explaining why I hadn't heard waves crashing. They simply rolled up to the shore.
“Oh my gosh, I love it. It's so beautiful.” I threw my arms around him. “Thank you.”
He hugged me back, the feeling of his arms around me driving away my uncertainties. It felt so safe to be cradled in his embrace.
“Come here. This isn't the only surprise.”
He led me down the beach a short way. Driftwood had been piled to create a seating area, complete with a fire pit ringed by stones. With delighted laughter I called for flames, a spell I had mastered early on, and lit our fire.
“This is so perfect.” Shrugging off my backpack, I rooted around inside it. “I actually brought you a surprise too, and they go perfectly together.”
From the pack I pulled the large container of cookies and two individual sized bottles of sparkling cider, another of mine and Aunt Aimee's favorites. Finding them in the pantry had brought a smile to my face.
We settled in against the logs, talking and snacking, taking the opportunity to learn about each other. We sat close enough that our legs, stretched out in front of us, pressed together. The hours passed in what seemed like minutes.
The
sun had passed over our heads and begun to sink toward the horizon. “I probably need to get you home, huh?”
“As much as I hate to say it, probably. I don't relish the idea of a long walk through the woods in the dark.”
“Well, we actually aren't far from your house. We came by a very roundabout route, but the walk back should only be about twenty or thirty minutes.”
The news surprised me. I'd be able to come here again. Hopefully with him, and hopefully soon. Making sure we had our trash and the cookie container, I took one last look at the ocean and extinguished the fire. Isaiah got to his feet, extending his hand to pull me up.
He gave a little extra tug, causing me to stumble and lose my balance, falling into him. My hands splayed across his chest, and I reveled in the feeling of his muscles beneath my palms. “You did that on purpose!”
Our eyes met. “Would you blame me if I did?”
For a moment, neither of us spoke. The gentle noise of the water was the only sound, aside from both of our labored breathing. Praying for a kiss, I shivered in disappointment as he pulled me in for a hug instead.
“Leah.” The way he said my name made my knees weak and my panties wet.
“Yes?” The word barely squeezed past my lips.
“Thank you for today.” He released me, stepping back to look at my face once more. “I can't tell you how much this day meant to me. All of it. I hope we get to do this more often.”
“Me too.”
We made our way home in relative silence. I spent the time pondering how to best help him and his pack. The closer we got to each other, the more determined I became. This was a man I wanted in my life.
Arriving back at the house, we stopped just short of the clearing. “Here you are, my lady. Safe and sound.” He looked up at the house. “I meant what I said at the beach. I want to spend more time with you. I hope you decide to stay even after the curse is broken. Will you think about it?”
Crescent Marked: StarHaven Sanctuary Book One Page 9
