She reached backward, hoping to find anything to use as a weapon. This wolf wasn’t like the others. It must be real, one incapable of shifting into a man. In that case, she wouldn’t be able to reason with it. And if it was ready to attack her, even in the midst of a forest fire, it was probably rabid.
Cassidy cooed to the animal, hoping to calm it in any way possible. It looked grungy and underweight for a wolf. But its teeth were just as sharp as any other wild animal’s.
The wolf began to circle her, testing the air, its ears on alert. What was it doing? Sizing her up for the kill? She didn’t want to die, not when a new path in her life was just beginning. If she had the same telepathy as Garret, she’d be screaming out for help, begging one of her men to come to her rescue. But she was alone. Just her and this curious wolf.
She wondered why it hadn’t attacked yet. Without a weapon, she was an easy target. The wolf seemed almost tame. But she wasn’t so naïve to believe it was safe to reach out and touch. This wolf wasn’t her red wolf and Garret wasn’t standing by to protect her.
“I see you’ve found my pet.”
Cassidy looked to her left. Corbin and Ryder made their way down toward her from the higher slope. Under the circumstances, they were a welcome sight. At least they weren’t completely feral. She had no chance of surviving a wolf attack, but could possibly talk some reason into men.
“Your pet?”
“Pack members aren’t always obedient. Sometimes they have to be taught their place.”
“Maybe if they had a good alpha, they’d want to obey.” She bit her lip after speaking, not realizing how harsh the words sounded until it was too late. In her predicament, it was unwise to antagonize a threat.
Corbin mock kicked the wolf, scattering dirt instead. It bared its fangs and backed away. It kept near her side as if protecting her. A Rockford wolf defending her from its alpha? It didn’t make any sense. Garret’s pack mates would undoubtedly die for him if necessary. There was genuine love between all five of her men. It was part of the reason it was so natural for them to share her.
“Only a fool would threaten me,” Corbin said to the wolf. “You’ve gone feral for so long it’s messing with your head.”
“Patrick and Travis will be here any second. Just–just leave us alone and there won’t be any trouble.” She felt the need to defend the dark wolf, for whatever reason. So far it hadn’t harmed her, and she could relate to being on the receiving end of Corbin’s anger. She tried to sound intimidating and confident, but her nerves showed through in her tone.
He chuckled. “Your precious mates are quite preoccupied. It seems this isn’t the only rogue wolf with a death wish today.”
“Did you start the fire?”
“What better way to get Garret’s attention? Now that I know why I’ve been so obsessed with you, I felt I had to take drastic measures.”
“I’m human, Corbin. There’s no such thing as a female wolf. You know that.”
“I knew that.” He came closer, ignoring the growls of the wolf by her side. “With you, Rockford will be undefeatable. Our new generations will be stronger, the only shifters with pure blood.”
She shook her head. He sounded so final that it scared her. There was no way he’d listen to reason at this point. How would she defend herself from such raw strength? He was the alpha of the Rockford Pack, a shifter she’d be no match against. But when he reached for her, the lone wolf lashed out. Corbin was surprisingly quick in his human form. He avoided the sharp fangs and grabbed her wrist so fast she didn’t see it coming.
He held her against his body, her back to his chest, using her as a shield.
“Submit or you’ll be banished. You’ll wander without a pack for the rest of your days,” Corbin said to the wolf. Could the animal even understand him? She looked to Ryder, but he refused to meet her eye to eye. How did he feel about his brother trying to force her on the entire Rockford Pack? She felt no desire from him.
The wolf crouched low, its teeth bared and ears flat. It was one of the most intimidating things she’d ever seen, but Corbin appeared unaffected. When the hand securing her drifted lower down her stomach, a rush of panic built up inside her. She would never give herself to him.
“Are you afraid of me now, Cassidy Lyons? I told you I plan to give you the best of everything, so why fear me? Am I so repulsive? I’ve never heard a complaint about my physical appearance before.”
She could believe that. Corbin Rockford had a hard body and irresistible good looks like his brother. But that didn’t mean she’d jump at the chance to switch ships. Garret and his pack were just as tempting…and she loved them.
“The only one who should be afraid is you.”
Cassidy twisted along with Corbin to look behind them. Garret had come for her. He was such a beautiful sight, his deep voice the sweetest music. She immediately shrugged off Corbin and thrust herself into Garret’s arms. He was her protector, the alpha who could make everything better.
“You’re weak, old friend. I’m just taking advantage of the opportunity you provided.”
Garret tugged her head to the side with a fistful of hair. Her body instantly heated with desire. “Look. My marks. If you dare to touch what’s mine, you best prepare for the consequences.”
Her red wolf came into view with two other wolves, Matthew and Travis. Her heart rejoiced, the sense of safety in numbers forcing the adrenaline to pool around her feet. She wanted to ask if they’d seen Evan. He should have reunited with the pack by now. But she kept quiet and backed away when Garret nudged her to leave the area.
“I’m scared,” she whispered, dropping to her knees between Patrick and Travis. She ran her hands through their thick fur coats, feeling powerful that she could control such savage beasts. While they could evoke fear in any human, she knew they’d never harm a hair on her body or hesitate to give up their lives for her safety.
Travis licked her cheek but his body remained in an offensive position.
“She’s the last werewolf,” said Corbin. “Or the first. So you can’t expect me to sit back and watch you mate with her.”
“Cassie’s not a commodity. We love her, regardless of her pedigree,” said Garret.
“Sure,” he scoffed. “She’s just another female. How many have you gone through over the years? But suddenly this one you want to keep?”
“I don’t give a shit what you think,” said Garret. “She’s taken. If you keep trying to take what’s mine, you’ll have a war on your hands. Is the rest of your pack just as ready to die for her as you are?”
Garret looked at Ryder. He didn’t look impressed to be caught in the middle. He ran a hand through his dark hair, scowling slightly when he glanced at his brother. The air was increasingly heavy and humid, the heat of the flames replaced by choking steam. The water planes were winning the battle over the fire, but for every blessing was a consequence.
A wave of soot and ash washed down the hill in a blinding cloud. She ducked and ran as everyone tried to take cover. The sound reminded her of a howling wind in the height of a hurricane. She reached out to avoid crashing into a tree or obstacle. Cassidy dared not open her eyes to have them singed by the heat or debris rushing down the hillside. The world instantly transformed to pitch dark and utter chaos.
After running as far as she could in one burst of energy, she stopped to rest, leaning against a massive oak. Her chest was heaving, her lungs burning from exertion. It was slightly easier to breathe in her new, farther location, the heaviness in the air not as prevalent. She peeked open her eyes.
It appeared she was in the center of a cloud or rolling mist. She struggled to focus on any one target. If she travelled a little further, it seemed clearer up ahead. She’d been separated from the wolves and Garret’s comforting presence.
“Cassidy, come with me. I’ll get you away from all this madness.”
Peter’s voice came from the shadows. It was the last thing she wanted to hear. Could he even see her? She was afraid to call
out for Garret and divulge her exact location.
Then he cried out, the sound of a struggle making her cringe. She squatted down and covered her ears. Which wolf was attacking him? Was it Patrick? Garret? What the fuck was happening?
She wished she could open her eyes and find herself in her bedroom back at their cottage. No danger, no fire, no worries. She missed the simple pleasures with her men, and she wondered if they’d even enjoy them again. Things were better before Garret even marked her. His mistake in assuming she had wolf blood was costing everyone too high a price.
The breeze slowly dissipated the fog, giving her brief glimpses of the scene. Peter wasn’t moving, but he was still breathing, his chest rising and falling as if asleep. How badly injured was he? Should she even care after what he’d put her through?
The wolf came in and out of view like a phantom. She thought she was seeing things, a dark blur disappearing into the passing mist and then reappearing. It finally reared up and rested its upper paws on a tree, its body convulsing in the midst of a shift. Her curious wolf was indeed a shifter. Was it loyal to Corbin? It hadn’t attacked her yet. After shifting, he dropped to his knees, a look of complete exhaustion crossing his human features. She rushed over and touched his shoulder.
“Are you okay?”
“That was the first time I’ve shifted…in a while.”
He rotated his shoulders and tilted his neck to each side. Then he looked directly up at her.
“Are you going to hurt me?” she asked on instinct.
“I would never.”
“Well, your alpha doesn’t feel the same.”
He took a deep breath, the filling of his lungs appearing to cause him pain. He braced a hand against the tree as he attempted to stand up straight. “I didn’t come back for Corbin. I came back for you.”
She took a step back. Another lust-crazed shifter.
Chapter Seven
Garret saw the male outsider approaching his woman, and he had to fight to keep his wolf in check. The fire had been squelched. It was time to clear his land of intruders and get his woman marked once and for all. He hated his life and land being so vulnerable. It seemed there would never be peace between the Gregor and Rockford Packs. There was enough land and copper for both to mine, yet old feuds kept them at each other’s throats even in the twenty-first century. Now that Cassidy was between them, Garret took their rivalry personally. It was one thing to mess with his business or even his land. It was another to try and steal his woman, his fated mate.
He now knew the only way to keep Cassie safe was to complete the pack bond. His mark alone obviously wasn’t enough. There was no more time to reflect on her bloodlines. Every fucking shifter in the province was weaseling their way to Climax to try and steal her away from him. At this point, he didn’t give a shit if she was human, wolf, or anything in between. He loved the sweet, caring girl with the fearless heart. She’d gotten under his skin over the months, and there was no erasing that now.
He hoped once she received a mark from all the pack members that Corbin and the other two shifters would respect their traditions and move on. Hope was all he had at this point.
As he made his way toward Cassie and the new shifter, he noted Peter approaching them from the opposite direction.
“Get away from her. She’s mine. I didn’t travel ten goddamn hours to claim her for nothing.” Peter was half covered in black soot, and he walked with a slight limp.
As Garret came into view, Peter froze in his tracks.
“You’ve overstayed your welcome, Scott…or was that Peter? Does anything you say have any truth to it?” Garret reached out a hand for Cassie to join him. He wouldn’t feel safe until she was in his arms. Once her soft, warm body was pressed to his side, his wolf calmed, giving him a measure of humanity back.
“I know she’s meant to be mine or I wouldn’t be here.”
Garret chuckled. “You’re young, only following your instincts and your dick. You don’t love her, just her scent, what she represents. If you were smart, you’d head back to the city and find yourself a nice girl of your own. This one’s taken.”
Then he glared at the other male threat. These young shifters knew nothing about sacrifice and bloodshed. They’d grown up in comfortable human society, never knowing what it was like to live as a wolf, to follow the strict traditions of their race. All of Garret’s pack had emotional scars that ran deep. These greenhorns needed to get the fuck out of Climax.
“You should let her decide,” said Peter.
Cute. “She’s decided. Cassidy wants a man, not a boy. The marks on her neck prove that. If you had any connection with your heritage, you’d know the significance of a love bite.”
He glanced down at Cassie. Her blue eyes were his weakness. The world stopped spinning while he looked at her, nothing else of concern as he imaged a future with such a beautiful creature. His little dispatcher from the mainland proved to be the saving grace for him and his friends.
Garret had a feeling his female was learning just how important the love bites were. She now carried three out of five, and her body had to feel the effects by now. He needed to get her alone so they could enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime experience to the fullest.
“Is it true?” asked the new wolf. “You choose him?”
“I–I choose all five men in the Gregor Pack. I’d never willingly accept another man.” Cassidy clung to Garret like a life preserver. He savored his role as her protector—it fueled him, gave him purpose. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for her.
“Trouble, boss?” Travis leaned against a nearby tree, showing no sense of urgency. Garret could take on these two young bucks alone with ease, and Travis knew it. Add one or two of his pack and they were no competition.
“Our two trespassers were just about to leave Gregor-owned land. Climax if they were smart.”
Peter growled as he shifted, darting further down the slope in the forest until out of sight entirely. He’d be back. The gods knew Garret would never give up on Cassidy so easily.
“Something you don’t understand?” asked Travis. “He said to leave. Now.”
The other male shook his head. “I came too far for her. There’s nothing left for me to go back to.”
“You’ll get over it. Return to your alpha. Cassidy belongs to us.”
“I don’t want to own her, just love her. There’s one thing more valuable than my status in the Rockford Pack. Bloodlines.”
“What are you blathering about?” asked Garret.
“The woman you’re holding is my sister.”
* * * *
Cassidy couldn’t believe she’d heard correctly. She expected her curious wolf to be another crazed suitor. It seemed the norm in her life lately. But hadn’t there been something different about him since she first met him in the forest? He didn’t scare her like the others. In fact, he tried to protect her on more than one occasion. He had blue eyes and shaggy brown hair, not unlike her. If he truly was Scott, they were only half siblings. Did they share the feral half, the side that allowed him to shift into a dark wolf? Could Garret have been right about her heritage?
“You’re telling us you’re the Scott?” asked Travis. “The one Cassidy has been looking for half her life?”
“Yes, my name’s Scott. I haven’t used that name in a while, but it’s mine nonetheless. I’ve been feral for a long time.”
Garret’s possessive hold on her didn’t let up. “You’re not the first male claiming to be her brother. Why should we believe you?”
“I have nothing to prove, nothing to gain. I’ve tried to find Cassidy in the past, but it was like finding a needle in a haystack. I travelled north, to the land of my grandfather, and reverted to my roots. If it wasn’t for the fire forcing me south, I’d probably still be in my fur.”
“It’s not safe here. I’m taking Cassie away for the night. If you’re sincere, meet us in the morning at Gregor mining. We’ll get to the bottom of this.” Garret scanned the are
a and then whisked her into his arms with ease.
As they continued out of the forest, she watched Scott get smaller and smaller. He stood there watching her, a longing in his eyes. Was it really him? Was that the man she’d dreamed about uniting with all those lonely years in the city? Her one blood relative? Within minutes a pack of wolves had surrounded him, swarming around his legs.
“He’s Rockford, Cassie. He can’t be your brother. It’s just another one of Corbin’s tricks.” Garret knew she’d been staring. She hadn’t tried to hide it. Her heart was swollen with hope, but as much as she wanted to believe every word the stranger said, she was afraid to trust again. Peter had broken her heart and treaded on it. She’d built up such anticipation that it crippled her to discover he was just a twisted love interest from her past.
She never expected her missing half brother to be a werewolf like her lovers. He was living in Climax as her grandfather had. Had her grandfather been a part of the Rockford Pack? If Scott was from the rival pack, what did that mean for Cassidy and her Gregor mates? Would she have to choose? Would Garret even want her if she had enemy blood flowing in her veins? He’d already stopped their mating once because he tasted wolf blood.
Her insecurities continued to surface as she imagined the many unpleasant scenarios.
“He looks like me,” she said.
“You’re reading too much into this. You just believe what he’s put in your head.”
“What if it’s the truth?” She raised her voice, struggling in his arms. After a lifetime of hoping to find her brother, she had to investigate every possible direction. If Garret loved her, he’d understand the need.
“That’s why I invited him to the mine tomorrow. If he’s who he says he is, he’ll be there.”
She kept quiet. Garret was right. He was thinking with his head, thinking like an alpha.
“Where we going?” Her body and mind needed a serious vacation. A week of undisturbed sleep seemed in order, but it wasn’t going to happen. It would be nice to get away to Garret’s little cottage, any place where she could be alone with her men for at least a night.
Climax for Six [Wolves of Climax 7] (Siren Publishing LoveXtreme Forever - Serialized) Page 6
