The Boy and His Wolf

by Sean Thomas

  I grabbed the empty bottles and headed for the house. “Be right back.”

  The kitchen fridge was empty of beer and I headed into the garage for the second one. No sooner than the door closed behind me did it open. Dash stood in the doorframe, lips pressed and one hand in pocket.

  “Something wrong?” His head leaned in with his words.

  “No.” The word cracked as it came out.

  He took a few steps closer.

  “You won’t even look at me.”

  I still couldn’t. My eyes wouldn’t look away from a shelf full of power tools. He would be able to smell the mixture of emotions on me, so there was no point in trying to fail at hiding my hurt any longer.

  “I heard about your recent flings.” I barely got the words out.

  He was silent for a moment and I could see his body stiffen. He hadn’t wanted me to figure that out. Go figure.

  “Yeah…don’t deny it or anything.” I flicked my eyes up at him, my own face scrunching in disgust.

  Dash licked his lower lip slowly and his heavy gaze dropped. “I won’t lie to you.”

  “Sooo, that’s it?” I shook my head. He had nothing else to say?

  He tossed his hands up. “What do you want me to say? No, I didn’t have sex with people. I did. I had meaningless sex with college guys. I’m not going to lie to you about that.”

  “Great, thank you for your honesty.” I walked towards the door, not spending another minute in the garage with him to get the beer.

  Dash stepped in front of me, his hands calmly outstretched. “You were gone, Tanner. It’s been four years and nobody thought you were ever coming back.”

  I gave him the dirtiest look of angry disgust I could muster. “But that’s alright for you because you don’t have a damn mark on your back, right? You weren’t branded by your ex-boyfriend so that you could never have feelings for anybody else. No, you can stick your dick in whoever you want.”

  “You wanted the mark,” Dash responded, in front of me now with his powerful stature looming over me.

  “Because I thought we were going to be together forever.” I laughed, remembering how stupid I had been. “I was a teenager in love, Dash.”

  “I was a teenager, too. I wanted you just as much as you wanted me. I didn’t see you leaving a year later.”

  The pain was evident in his voice. It quivered at the last part and that surprised me. We stood there for a moment, two pieces of a puzzle that once fit together but no longer did. I tried to make sense of the man I had so greatly loved, who had been more important than air to me, and now was out of reach.

  I swallowed and spoke slowly. “I left because this place was tearing us apart. You wanted to protect me to the point where you would have given your life for mine. I wasn’t going to be the reason you sacrificed yourself.”

  Dash let out a breath. “Gabriela was going to kill you. Of course I would have given my life for yours.”

  “It wasn’t just Gabriela.” I thought of the other dangers besides the witch. “You didn’t think about your own safety when I was around, Dash.”

  “Everything I did was for you,” he shouted at the ceiling.

  “And that’s why I left.” I bellowed back, my hand taking his. “It was only a matter of time before you died for me…so I left.”

  We stood connected by our hands and by our answers. I finally told Dash the secret that had eaten away at me all this time. I didn’t leave for California because I was recruited by Hunters, but to keep Dash alive. He took a deep breath, his free hand traveled up my arm. It brushed over my shoulder in light circles and his fingertips dragged along my neck. I tingled at his touch as heat rushed to my groin.

  I was immediately pressing against my jeans and when Dash closed the distance between us I felt his stiffness pressed against mine. My cock sang to be freed from its captivity, bobbing around like one of those dinosaur grow-in-water toys. Hello T-Rex. Dash ran a finger down my nose and then brushed his hand through my hair. My lips parted, mouth dry, and my hands pulled his face to mine. Our kiss was forceful and wet. His tongue went straight in my mouth to wrap around mine.

  “Uhhh,” I moaned, lightheaded and throbbing painfully against him.

  A growl radiated from within him and his hand grabbed me under my ass, lifting me into him. I shuddered at how easily he picked me up still, even with the muscle I gained, and plunged my tongue into his open mouth. Oh God, I could have cried if I wasn’t trying to devour his lips. My legs wrapped around his waist as his hand reached under me, rubbing me through my jeans.

  I would have given anything for him to have taken me right there on the garage floor, oil stains and all. I wanted him to tear my clothes off and slide into me while I bit into his neck. We might have actually gotten to that point, but the patio door slammed shut and we both jarred at the sound of it.

  “Shit,” he grumbled against my cheek and then pulled away, helping me to my feet.

  I turned away from him and adjusted myself, the surprise already calming me down. While Dash had to push a bit more forcefully at himself, no doubt the wolf in him fighting back, I grabbed a few beers from the fridge.

  He nodded to me and we walked back into the kitchen to find Sylvia pouring herself a glass of red wine. She smiled before she looked up, a knowing grin on her face. “Well, hello boys.”

  Embarrassment filled me as I realized the Alpha could probably smell every dirty thought and action Dash and I just exchanged. Damn wolves and their heightened senses.

  She turned to face us, wine glass held elegantly between her red painted nails. “Mind if we have a little chat?”

  I started for the door when she added. “Specifically with you, Mr. Settino.”

  I looked from her to Dash. “Me?”

  Sylvia took a drink of the wine and licked her lips. “I’m assuming that’s your Banshee blade outside by the grill?”

  “Yeah.” Marco must have brought it from his car.

  “An interesting Hunter weapon.” Her face, like her stare, was a frozen diamond. “If I’m not mistaken it also has the ability to poison its prey with a single cut.”

  What was she getting at? I never used my blade to poison an enemy.

  “It wasn’t Tanner.” Dash spoke forcefully to the Alpha and I understood.

  “You think I killed Richton?” I stared dumbfounded at the accusation.

  “All I know is an Alpha turns up dead and a Hunter shows up.”

  Dash began to open his mouth, but I spoke up first. “I just got here this morning. Richton was my friend too. I would never have done something like this.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “A little birdie told me your scent matches the area of the woods where Richton died. Care to explain that?”

  Dash looked at me, surprise in his hazel eyes.

  “That’s a lie.” I nearly yelled. “I haven’t even been here for twenty four hours.”

  Sylvia bit her nail and looked at Dash. “Do you believe your boyfriend?”

  Dash hesitated for a split second, but it was all I needed to see. Some part of him actually questioned if Sylvia was telling the truth. It might not have been much, but for a moment it was there.

  “I do.” He straightened himself up and looked towards Sylvia.

  She smiled. “Alright then.”

  The memorial was over and with it the pleasantries between the two packs. After being accused of murder and watching Dash question my loyalty, I wasn’t in the best of moods. Add the fact that we were hot and heavy just moments before and I was royally pissed.

  “And how do we know you’re not behind this?” Carson asked, asking the sanest question I’d heard all night.

  Sylvia looked to Dash with sympathy. “I take it he’s not the brains?”

  Dash raised his eyebrows and looked away.

  “You didn’t answer my question.” Carson spoke the words slower.

  Sylvia eyed him with annoyance and answered fleetingly. “If I wanted your pack dead, sweetheart, res
t assured we wouldn’t be having this conversation.”

  Jacey stepped forward to cut off whatever Carson was about to say. “Then what about Silver Creek?”

  “Elias’ pack?” Dash shook his head. “No. They hardly leave Routt or Steamboat. We’re talking about a rogue pack trying to make a name for themselves.”

  “But why Richton? Why our pack?” Marco asked, asking the very question I was thinking.

  Sylvia uncrossed her arms. “Could have been any of us. Luck of the draw, favored land…doesn’t matter now.”

  Doesn’t matter now. The words filled Dash’s already cramped kitchen. It was too late to save the lives lost and Sylvia wanted blood. Her goons cracked their necks, all three at the same time, and I couldn’t have been the only one wondering how many times they choreographed that. Jacey took a step away from the three men and I was pretty sure it was out of tact and not fear.

  “Someone was able to get close enough to poison Richton,” Grady said quietly at the table.

  “Someone knew Richton’s hunting schedule,” Sylvia spoke up, looking directly at Dash.

  Marco told me Grady found Richton’s body, slashed down the back with black tar oozing from the wound. A Banshee sword could definitely have poisoned Richton, which would point to Hunters, but now there was a rogue pack involved. None of it made any sense.

  Dash looked to Syliva. “Richton had gone hunting the day before. Someone would have been trailing him, though how they would have gotten past Richton’s senses…I don’t know.”

  Even though I wasn’t looking at Dash, I heard the hurt in his voice. It wasn’t often Dash sounded defeated, but this was one of those times. The Alpha was the leader and elder of the pack and for many wolves, their passing was like losing a parent. I wasn’t a wolf and therefore didn’t feel the supernatural bond that my friends felt towards Richton, but I felt bad all the same. He had been a good man and he deserved a better death than what he got.

  “Which means you all let your guard down enough for another wolf to study you or you have a traitor in your midst.” Sylvia looked at everybody in the room except me.

  “Which is why we should be out there looking for the bastard that did this.” Carson slammed his fist into the counter.

  “Do you have any concept of what we’re doing?” Sylvia asked him, the annoyance in her voice palpable. “You do not just rush into a battle without formulating a plan first.”

  “I haven’t been able to see anything either.” Jacey’s voice was low and guilt-ridden. “Sorry.”

  “Don’t be, honey.” Marco flashed her a smile. “We know you looked.”

  Besides me, Jacey was the only other non-wolf in the pack. I had no supernatural abilities, but Jacey had a second sight that, sometimes, allowed her to see the future or get psychic impressions. It was obvious by her lack of bubbly personality that she blamed herself for not foreseeing Richton’s death.

  I spoke up. “If a Hunter is involved I can check with local divisions and try to get some information.”

  “Maybe you should have tried to do that sooner?” Carson licked his lips and everything about his sentence was made to make me feel like scum.

  In the corner of my eye I saw Dash stand rigid before Jacey said. “There’s really no reason for you to be talking right now.”

  Carson laughed and pushed off from the counter. “Really? Because the way I see it, we could be hunting those rogues down right now, but instead we’re having a little pow-wow with our friends here.”

  The look of disgust on Carson’s ruby face made it clear that Sylvia’s group and myself were not wanted by him. Jacey went to open her mouth, but Carson spoke first. “Quite frankly, I don’t trust your judgment of our woods either.”

  His sky blue eyes lit up with an unnatural green light. He was looking for a fight and Sylvia’s men were more than happy to oblige him. Two of the giants stepped in front of their Alpha while the third grabbed Carson by his shirt and lifted him off his feet. Simultaneously, the room filled with guttural growls and I got that itch-you-can’t-scratch feeling and my fingers twitched for my holstered gun. I squeezed the chair tighter to keep them there.

  Carson socked the dude holding him in the nose before he was thrown backwards into the fridge. Fangs appeared under scrunched up noses and the hot scents of combat burned at my eyes. Grady moved forward, but Dash pushed him back with a snarl and then caught Carson by the arms and held him in place.

  “Stand down.” His command vibrated up my thighs and bounced around my groin.

  He turned to the rest of the room. “All of you. Stand down now. We are not fighting.”

  The kitchen froze except for Jacey who inched backwards, putting distance between herself and the wolves. The only other movement was the blood that dripped down Sylvia’s wolf’s face.

  Dash turned back to Carson. “Take a walk.”

  Carson pushed Dash’s hands from his chest. “You’re not my Alpha.”

  “Not yet but you’re gonna go for a walk all the same.”

  Damn, that was smooth. Carson cracked his neck to either side, I was guessing in some attempt to show Dash that he didn’t scare him, and then eyed the room.

  “Pathetic,” he huffed and walked out, the scent of disgust trailing him.

  Sylvia’s men still stood around her, daring the next person to threaten their Alpha.

  “Oh back up.” She waved them off and they followed her order.

  The tension in the room was jello thick. Muscles bulged from necks and refused to relax. To distract myself from the awkwardness I decided to stare at Dash’s ass and feel sorry for myself. Apparently, this was a new skill I excelled in.

  Night was falling and the warm Colorado sunset shone directly through the West facing kitchen walls. It was beautiful, but it created shadows on Sylvia’s face that made her even less friendly than she already was.

  “Well, boys and girls.” She broke the silence. “What do you say we go looking for these rogue wolves?”

  “I thought you said they could mask their scents. What good would it do?” Jacey asked.

  Sylvia’s smile curved in a sinister twist and her eyes stared out like a dead person with something up their sleeve. “I have a feeling they’ll find us.”

  “Where are we heading?” Grady asked.

  “We’ll follow the river. Break into two teams and head north,” Dash spoke directly to Sylvia.

  Dash was a natural born wolf and a natural born leader. He had the makings of an Alpha and assumed the role without any hesitation.

  “We’ll start at the reservoir and head North to Needle Rock. Sylvia, you take the East side of Gunnison and we’ll take the West.”

  Sylvia cocked her head towards me. “I want the Hunter with me.”

  “He stays with us.” Dash’s words were out before she even finished her sentence.

  That caught the attention of everybody in the room. Sylvia smiled like she just caught wind of a dirty secret. My loyalty was still on the line with her. Dash either trusted me or he didn’t, I couldn’t care less. The fact that he wavered confirmed that we hadn’t bonded the way I thought we did. Maybe all we had left was sexual tension? If Sylvia and Dash didn’t trust me then I would prove, just to spite them both, that I was trustworthy to the pack.

  “I’ll go.” I stood and directed my words straight to Sylvia, feeling a pang of pride when Dash’s head whipped towards me.

  I grabbed a napkin from the table and handed it to the wolf who was doing a shit job of keeping the blood from dripping out of his nose.

  “Let’s quit wasting time.” I headed for the door, making sure not to look in Dash’s direction at all.

  CHAPTER SIX

  “Didn’t think you would agree to come with me.” Sylvia eyed me across the backseat of her Hummer.

  We were heading towards the site where we would start looking for the rogue pack. Two of her goons were in the front seat and the third was hanging off the back of the vehicle. Literally.

 
“Well, you needed a Hunter.” I continued to stare out the window, doing my best to not think about stupid Dash and our stupid relationship.

  “Your wolf seemed pretty upset that you agreed to come with.”

  “He is not my wolf.” As in not anymore and not ever again.

  I could feel Sylvia turn towards me. “The mark on your shoulder says otherwise.”

  My head shot in her direction. “How do you know that?”

  She gave a slight laugh. “Honey, I’m an Alpha. I could see that scar under anything.”

  Hmm. This was news to me.

  “You’re still wrong,” I told her. “This scar means nothing now. Just a reminder to always read the fine print.”

  Sylvia began stroking her hair. It was the first time since meeting her that she seemed relaxed and not pissed off in some way.

  “I have a mark too,” she said, casually pulling at a stray end.

  “You do?” She didn’t seem like the type to be in a relationship. A dominatrix, however, I could see.

  Even in the darkness I saw the genuine curve of her smile, like she was thinking of happier times.

  “I had a mate once. He was a wolf too. I turned him actually, but that’s another story.” She held her lower right side. “Right here. Looks just like yours.”

  “You’re not with him anymore?” Maybe she knew of a way I could break this damn supernatural connection. This could be my chance to finally move on from Dash.

  She was silent for a moment. “He died some years ago.”

  Sylvia wasn’t one of my favorite people, but at that moment my heart went out to her. I couldn’t help but think of what life would have been like if Dash had died when we were dating. How did my dad move on with his life after my mother died? I’ve experienced loss in my life, but not the loss of a partner.

  “I’m sorry to hear that.” Was all I could say.

  “That was a long time ago. I have moved forward with my life.”

  “Is…that possible?” My stomach constricted in excitement. “Can the mark be reversed?”

  Sylvia crossed her legs and adjusted her skirt. “It’s not easy. Usually one of the two marked has to die in order for the connection to be severed. Do either of you plan on dying anytime soon?”