by Ava Sinclair
But instead, as soon as she’d seen the damage she’d reached for the card in her pocket and dialed the number under the words Lakota Longtree, Custom Art and Canoes. When he’d not answered by the fourth ring, she’d panicked. When his voice had come on the line, Carly could only sob.
It seemed only seconds later that she heard the roar of his truck engine as Lakota turned into the driveway. He didn’t knock before coming in through the front door. Once inside, he walked straight to her and enfolded her protectively in his arms, shushing her as she’d buried her face in his broad chest so she’d not have to look at the trashed interior of her family’s home.
He didn’t show it, but he was as shaken as she was. The entire living room was trashed, and he could see that the destruction extended into other rooms. And then there was the smell. It filled his nose. Bear had been here. Bear was hunting again, but even he couldn’t have imagined he’d come here, not in animal form.
“Carly…” He gently pushed her to arm’s length away. “Carly, listen…”
But she was still crying, looking around again, her body shaking as she stared in wide-eyed shock at the damage. “Who would do this?”
He grew quiet. “I think you know.”
She stopped sobbing and looked up at him.
“Your father’s legal fight was well publicized. Your father only had one enemy, and you’ve inherited him.”
Carly looked around at the room.
“You’re right,” she said, remembering the anger on Bruce Holder’s face the day she’d had him escorted out of her parents’ funeral. “I’ll call the police.” But when she picked up the phone still sitting on the desk, Lakota stayed her hand.
“They can’t help you.”
She stared at him for a moment, disbelieving. “Of course they can,” she said. “They can come in, investigate, dust for fingerprints.”
“They won’t find prints.” He paused. “Look around, Carly. Really look.”
Carly stepped back and began walking around the room. Until now she’d just seen the destruction as a big, awful picture. But she noticed the details now, the savagery and strength behind the damage. This was no ordinary break-in. Furniture was overturned and splintered. Books were pulled from the shelves, their spines broken and pages shredded like confetti. Family pictures were smashed. The drapes were slashed from top to bottom. Five slashes. The back of the smashed sofa bore the same five slash marks.
It reminded her of something. She turned and looked at the pack where she’d dropped it by the door. Five slashes.
Now she turned her attention through the door to the kitchen. The refrigerator door was hanging from the hinges. Food had been pulled out and was all over the floor. Wrappers were torn open; the food had been scavenged.
“This isn’t possible.” She uttered the words as much to herself as to Lakota, then pointed to the kitchen. “It’s not possible,” she said again, desperate to convince herself as much as him. As a biologist, she had come upon campsites and picnic areas scavenged by bears. She knew the signs.
“It shouldn’t be.” Lakota was calm. “But you’re a scientist. What did this? A human? Or an animal?”
“No human could do this,” she said, hearing the quake in her own voice. “But no bear can unlock a door. I locked that door. So that means…” She put her fingers to her temples. “Someone had to jimmy the lock and… let a bear into my house?” She turned away. “No. That makes no sense.”
“You’re right. Because that’s not how it happened.”
She whirled back. “So what—we have bears that can pick locks?” She laughed, high and nervous. “Is that what you’re telling me?”
“No.” He was staring at her in a way that unnerved her almost as much as the destruction. She stood there, rooted to the spot as Lakota walked over.
“What I’m telling you is that you are in danger. And you need to come back with me unless you want to end up dead. You’re being hunted. And what’s after you won’t stop.”
“What do you mean? Are you saying that what happened in the woods and what’s happened here are related?” She’d begun to cry again from fear and frustration and something else—a sense of growing dread. “If you know something about this, you need to tell me!”
Lakota walked toward her, unbuttoning his plaid flannel shirt as he approached. Carly watched, wondering what was going on. But when he shrugged it off, she gasped at what she saw.
The five slashes that marked his chest had healed into silvery scars, but there was no mistaking what had put them there. The width between the slashes matched the width between the slashes on her pack and curtains.
She stared at him. “Who are you?” Her voice was barely a whisper as she stared at the scars.
“Who am I?” He cupped her chin in his hand. “I’m the man who knows what you’re up against, the man who’s going to protect you from now on, no matter what it takes.”
He turned away. “Grab what you need, Carly, and hurry. I’m taking you back,” he said. “I shouldn’t have let you come back in the first place.”
“Hold on.” She backed away. “You expect me to just leave with you?”
“It has nothing to do with expectations. I’m taking you.”
She shook her head. “No, this is crazy. I can’t just leave any more than I can believe that a bear got into my house and trashed it.” Her rational mind was warring with what she was seeing, denying it. “It doesn’t make sense. None of it makes sense!”
“I know,” he said. “And it won’t until you know what you’re facing. Do I need to show you, Carly?” His voice was almost pained. “Because if that’s what it takes…”
“Show me what?” she asked.
He stepped away from her and her eyes widened, for now he was removing his pants. Once more, Carly could only stare in disbelief. Lakota was naked now, and had she not been so thoroughly overwhelmed and confused, she could have appreciated the beauty of his form—the broad shoulders, well-muscled arms, sculpted, scarred chest and toned abs, the strong legs, and a cock that even in rest was obviously large. Lakota said nothing as he lowered his chin to his chest. Carly continued to stare as he began to breathe heavily.
And then the impossible happened. It was like Lakota had flowed from solid to liquid back to solid, starting the process in human form and then ending as the wolf she’d seen on the trail.
She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out. She felt her legs give way from the shock and sank down onto the floor, shaking her head as she put her hands to her temples and doubled over.
“This isn’t real. This isn’t real. This isn’t real.” She repeated the phrase over and over, her shock so intense that she didn’t notice when he padded over to her, until she felt the soft warmth of its body as it lay down beside her. It was facing her, its size so large that even in this position its head was level with hers. It craned its neck forward, licking away the tears she didn’t even know she was crying, and Carly forgot she was afraid and sat back, raising her hands to its fur.
She sank her hands into the fur of his shoulders, marveling that the scar on his chest was still visible on the animal before her; there was no fur on the streaks that marked him, and she touched them with her fingers and looked into his eyes. And she could see the humanity in them and remembered her father once telling her that all creatures were One, and could teach humans their secrets if they would only listen.
“It is real.” Her voice was filled with wonder. “You are real.”
The wolf stood, padded a few feet away, and transformed back into a human. His back was to her now, his buttocks perfect, hard muscle. She couldn’t help but stare as he pulled on his blue jeans and shirt in silence.
He turned back to her. “Do you understand now? Do you understand why you have to go with me? The bear that attacked you was a creature like me. What he did coming here… it shows a dangerous level of desperation unheard of among our kind.”
Carly looked around the room. �
�But if I leave, he’ll destroy everything! So how can I leave?”
“Have you not listened to a thing I’ve said?” Lakota was raising his voice. “Your life is in danger. Everything else is irrelevant until the threat is eliminated. You’re alone, without a family to protect you.” He paused. “My family will take you in.”
Tears sprang to her eyes, tears of helpless anger and confusion.
“I’m not some child that needs to be adopted,” she said. “You can’t replace the man who raised me.”
“And I wouldn’t try,” he said. “But I believe your Dr. Fowler may have given his life to protect us, to protect our kind, and our secret. It was a secret he was keeping even from you, for your own protection. But there’s more I have to tell you, but not here. Not now. What I will tell you is that I know Miles Fowler wouldn’t have wanted you to wait around for a horrible death. He’d want you to listen to reason, and I aim to make sure you do. Now you go upstairs and grab your things, or I’m going to put you over my knee and spank you until you obey. Understand?”
His warning came as yet another shock, but something in Lakota’s eyes told her he was dead serious. For a split second, she thought of calling the police and… what? Tell them that a bear had torn up her living room and a beautiful native man had turned into a wolf and threatened to spank her? Everything felt like an absurd dream, and Carly decided not to let it take a turn for the worse. She turned and walked up the stairs, aware that Lakota was behind her. She was silent as she fished through the clothing of her wrecked bedroom, salvaging what she could.
The threat of punishment was no longer necessary by the time Carly had gathered what she needed; the sight of her slashed mattress was convincing enough.
If the only way I’ll learn the truth is to go with him, I’ll go, she told herself. But as Carly stuffed the last of her clothing into a duffle bag, she tried not to examine her other motive. Lakota’s threat to spank her had made her tingle with fear, but it had also made her feel something else—a deep need for the paternalistic, protective force missing in her life.
She zipped up the bag and turned to face him.
“How long will you keep me with you?” she asked.
He took her hand and guided her from the room. “As long as it takes,” he said. “Come on.”
This time she obeyed without question, following him from the house like an obedient child.
Chapter Ten
“She can’t stay.” Sam was on his feet, pacing around the room, and his anger made Carly uncomfortable. “She’s a… she’s an outsider.”
“She’s Miles Fowler’s daughter,” Lakota was saying as he faced his nephew down. “Miles Fowler was no ordinary outsider. He’s fought for the right of our brothers against those who would kill us. And against the one who’s betrayed our kind in the worst way.”
“Bear.”
“That’s right. And because of that, I’m bringing her under our protection.”
“Couldn’t you have done that without revealing our secrets?” Sam was raising his voice now. “My dad…”
“…would have done the same thing, Sam.” Lakota jabbed a finger toward the younger man as he finished his sentence.
“No, he wouldn’t have.” Sam glared at Carly. “He would have protected his own kind first.” The younger man shot Carly a hateful look, grabbed his jacket, and headed out of the kitchen.
“Sam, where are you going?” Sabine was calling after him.
“Out!” A door slammed, hard, and Lakota looked up at his sister.
“Let him go. He’ll be back.”
When he’d arrived back at the cabin with Carly, she could tell that Sam and Sabine were surprised. Lakota had sat her down at the table while he explained what they’d found at her house. He’d told them what he’d done. Then he’d told them that Carly would be staying with them.
“Just as any new member of the pack, she’ll answer to the senior members,” Lakota had said. “But she’ll be my main responsibility.”
Until that moment, Carly had just listened. At that pronouncement, however, she’d stood.
“Wait,” she said. “This is the second time you’ve spoken about me like I’m a child. And I’m not!”
Sabine’s quiet voice cut through the others. “Lakota, she clearly doesn’t understand. If you’re going to do this, you need explain our ways.”
“You’ve entered the world of the WyldKind,” he said. “There are only two clans left—WolfKind and BearKind. Our DNA and culture is fused with our animal brothers, and save for one other human, you’re the only one who knows about us.” He paused. “The other human was your Miles Fowler.”
Carly felt as if she’d been hit in the chest. “I knew he was studying the Sourwood pack—your pack—but he never…” She paused. “How could he have kept something like this from me?” She looked up at him. “You said there’s more?”
“Yes, there is more,” Sabine explained. “Bear wants the land your father is protecting, the homeland of our pack. Centuries ago, we fought BearKind for the right to hold this land. But the last of the BearKind males wants this land back. And once he claims it, he will bring a mate of his kind from across the sea and repopulate it. He will stop at nothing to kill our kind to reclaim the land for his, even if it means violating the one rule the WyldKind have always held—using his human form to remove us from the land.”
Lakota nodded. “He killed Sabine’s mate. Caine was in wolf form. Bruce Holder shot him from the air. It was his way of getting back at your father, Carly.” He paused.
A tear leaked from Carly’s eye and she swallowed hard. “The plane crash. It wasn’t an accident, was it?”
“We don’t think so,” Sabine said gently. “But do you understand now why you need our protection?”
“Yes,” Carly said. “But that doesn’t mean you have to treat me like a child.”
“In the pack, it’s the only way,” Lakota said. “It is our way. You will answer to me—the alpha male—as a father figure, and to Sabine, the alpha female, as the mother. You’ll submit to us.”
“You’ll even answer to Sam,” Sabine said. “‘You can think of him as an older brother.”
“No.” Carly was on her feet. “I can’t deny what happened, and trust me—I believe you. But I’m not about to… submit… to anyone. You seem to forget that I’m not one of you!”
Sabine stood. “Lakota, I’m going out to look for Sam. You handle this.”
As soon as the older woman left, Carly felt a sense of unease.
“Wait… What are you doing?” The question came out in a rush as Lakota pulled her from her chair and led her through the house to the staircase. When Carly tried to pull away, he turned and lifted her in his arms just as he did the day he’d saved her.
This time, rather than feeling saved, she just felt helpless. He was taking the steps two at a time, ignoring her ineffective struggles. Her anxiety rose with each step he took, and then they were in the room she’d occupied during her stay.
Lakota put her down and slammed the door behind him. Carly instantly backed away as he advanced on her, rolling up his sleeves.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she asked him again.
“Getting ready to do what I should have done when you first mouthed off at me here. I’m going to put you over my lap and spank you.”
“You’ll do no such thing,” she said, and reached for the first thing she could grab—a scrimshaw carving on the bureau top—and slung it at him.
He deflected it with reflexes that could only be described as superhuman, batting the carving away as if it were a fly. His eyes bored into her as he approached, and Carly screamed when he grabbed her—screamed at the top of her lungs. But even as she did, she knew the only people within earshot would not come to save her.
“You’re crazy!” she said, struggling in his grip. But despite being in good shape, Carly couldn’t work herself free from his muscular grip.
“I’m quite calm, actually
,” he said. “I’ve never corrected a subordinate in anger, and I’m not about to start now. But you will be corrected.”
He took a seat on the edge of the bed, and Carly felt herself go over his lap, exhaling a little ‘oomph’ as her midsection encountered his hard thighs.
This can’t be happening! But this had been a day when the impossible became real, and the impact of Lakota’s hand was real indeed when it descended on her bottom he’d bared with one hard jerk on the waistband of her jeans.
She cried out from the sting of it, and cursed him roundly, calling him fucker and bastard and a filthy animal. But Lakota was unfazed.
“You’re only going to make this worse, young lady,” he said, and the authority in his voice heightened the growing sense of helplessness. Carly had never been spanked in her life. And yet here she was, her nates burning from just one hard slap.
And there was more to come, and she wailed in pained outrage as he began to spank her with blistering skill. Lakota had relaxed his grip around her waist just enough to give her room to writhe about on his lap as he spanked her randomly across the fullness of her cheeks.
It was tears of anger that came first, and then tears of pain as he began to concentrate his stinging correction on the soft crease of skin between her buttocks and thighs.
He focused his attention there, slapping each crease alternately until she was screaming and wailing, her cries nearly infantile.
“Are you ready to do as you’re told?” His stern voice was barely audible above the sound her own cries, and Carly struggled to emit a strangled ‘yes’ amid her barely intelligible pleas for mercy.
“Promise me,” he ordered.
Promise? She looked back, catching his profile, his resolute expression. His mouth was a grim line. It was the face of an uncompromising disciplinarian. An authority. An alpha.
“I promise!” She screamed the words, scrabbling at the floor in one last desperate bid to escape. “I promise. I’ll be good! I promise.”
