‘You know who I am talking about Dru, stop acting like you’re innocent.’ She strode closer to him, her lip curling as she took in his dishevelled clothing. ‘God, you look terrible. She must like the rough and ugly look.’
He felt the hairs on the backs of his neck rise, and his teeth sharpen. She always knew exactly how to push his buttons.’Are you trying to sweet talk me again, Ashley? Actually, I’m glad that you’re here. We need to talk.’
She paled, but lifted her chin. ‘No, we need to get married and I have a guest list to plan for. It will not include whatever piece of arse you are currently sleeping with.’
‘Jesus Ash.’ Dru could feel the growl rumbling deep in his chest. ‘We have been over this a million times! Our relationship isn’t working. We aren’t working!’
His voice was getting louder and louder and he could feel his restraint ebbing away with each sentence.
‘And I told you,’ she spat at him, ‘that it will be a chilly day in hell before I give up my safety in the pack. Fuck the money. You can keep all the bloody money. But the Maxwell pack will accept me and I will restore the standing that my stupid Grandfather lost. I didn’t work all these years to make a future and a reputation for myself to lose it all to some hussy!’
She was screaming by the end, spittle flying from her mouth. Sharp points of teeth protruded from between her tight lips. He took an involuntary step back as the full force of her anger was displayed. He couldn’t believe this was his girlfriend. She didn’t resemble the calm, meek, docile woman that he had met and charmed all those years ago. He had hurt her too many times, and this face was showing the scars of his neglect. He felt a stab of guilt in his chest.
Behind her, another figure appeared.
‘Corey,’ he called out to his friend. ‘You’re back.’
Ashley pivoted on the spot, and as soon as Corey saw her face, he took a step backwards.
‘Hello Corey,’ Ashley greeted him, her voice now cold and eerily calm. ‘I should have known you would be involved in this.’
‘Ashley,’ he nodded at her before he side stepped past and walked up to Dru. His eyes were scanning the scene, and Dru knew without even asking that he was looking for signs of Nicci. ‘Hey Dru, look I haven’t really had much of a sleep, but I was thinking about your plans for this place.’
It was Ashley’s turn to look uncertain. She paled and ran a hand through her golden locks. ‘What do you mean plans for this place? What the hell is he talking about Dru? What have you done?’
‘Nothing yet,’ he murmured, hoping that his omission of certain details would save the massive fight that he expected would come once she knew. Her shoulders dropped, and she exclaimed, ‘Thank god for that.’
‘Actually, I might have inadvertently done something.’ Corey was looking sheepish as he stood next to Dru, his handsome face reddening as Dru raised an eyebrow at him. ‘Well, you know how I know people in the trade...’
He didn’t have time to complete the sentence because Dru’s attention was pulled away by the wafting scent of Nicci. An intense yearning melded into his mind, and his eyes swivelled towards the house they shared. She must have finally come back. Ashley too lifted her nose, her nostrils flaring and her eyes flashing.
Panic flooded him, as he knew that he needed to get between Ashley and that origin of that smell before all hell broke loose.
As Ashley growled, he jumped forward just in time to feel the sharp sting of her perfectly manicured fingernails draw blood from his arm.
‘Nicci,’ he said, briefly turning to look back at her. ‘You’re back.’
She looked pale, her eyes wide, gaze fixed on Ashley’s face. ‘Hi,’ she murmured.
He took a step forwards, forcing Ashley further away from Nicci in the process and feeling the heat of Ashley’s body pressed against his chest.
‘I knew it!’ He could feel her body shaking against his shirt as she hissed out the words into his ear.
‘Nicci, this is Ashley.’ He moved just enough to show the rest of Ashley, whilst keeping the bulk of his body in between the two women.
Nicci didn’t respond, her eyes remaining fixed on the other woman. Ashley however moved aside from Dru, her arms crossing on her chest.
‘So, you are the latest conquest?’ He couldn’t see Ashley’s face, but he knew the tone. The sneer in her voice was written all over her face. ‘You’re pretty. But then, he always did like the pretty ones.’
There was another brief pause as the women eyed each other. ‘You’re one of us.’ Surprise radiated in Ashley’s voice and around them.
Nicci’s cheeks flushed, and her eyes finally found their way back to Dru’s. He could feel his heart flutter with the connection.
‘Yeah, Nicci’s a shifter,’ Corey added to the conversation, reminding Dru that he was watching the scene unfold. Dru noted the stony look on Corey’s face when their eyes met. Corey’s whole countenance changed when he spoke to Nicci, and he broke into a wide smile. ‘Good morning Nic.’
A flash of confusion crossed Ashley’s face. ‘Sorry, you know this girl?’
Corey stepped forward and invited Nicci to step forward as well. ‘Me and Nic here are great mates.’ Ashley’s eyes narrowed as Corey passed Dru and herself and went straight to Nicci. He leaned in and swung an arm over her shoulder, pulling her into his side. Despite his appreciation of Corey’s attempt to defuse the situation, Dru felt jealous and clenched his teeth to try to ignore it.
‘Oh,’ Ashley’s whole demeanour changed, and she gave a wide smile. ‘She’s your friend. Hi Nicci, I’m Ashley, Dru’s fiancée. It’s lovely to meet you!’
She put her hand out to shake Nicci’s, but Nicci stayed stoically locked under Corey’s arm. ‘Yeah hi, I know who you are.’
Dru was torn between letting Ashley know the truth and letting Corey cover up the reality, protecting both himself and Nicci from Ashley’s wrath. He would let her believe whatever she wanted. After all, it wasn’t technically a lie. They had become friends. Sort of. He caught Corey’s gaze and saw him arch his eyebrow. No, he would let Corey run with the façade, but he had better not get too comfortable in that position, Dru grumbled to himself.
Ashley pulled her hand back, and her lips tightened. ‘Well, I know nothing about you. Tell me about yourself... Nicci? Is that right?’
‘There’s not much to tell. My car broke down, I met Dru and Corey here and that’s about it.’
‘Huh, so you have only just met them then?’ She stared across at Corey. ‘Must be easy to become great friends with then. What pack are you from?’ Ashley was watching her face closely. ‘I don’t think I have ever seen you before. There aren’t many of us around, you know.’
‘I don’t know.’ Nicci was uncomfortable. She shifted on the spot, her body nestled closer to Corey’s and drove Dru mad with jealousy. ‘I grew up in foster care.’ He caught sight of Corey’s fingers tighten on her shoulder.
‘Oh.’ Ashley’s eyes grew larger. ‘That must have been difficult.’
‘Yes,’ Nicci admitted, but offering no further information.
The two women eyed each other, and a hard silence filled the void. Corey broke through it.
‘So anyway, as I was saying...’ he started up. ‘I was excited after seeing this place yesterday, so I did some research on my phone and made some calls. There’s a group of guys who are dead keen to see what we can turn this into. Apparently, this place used to be quite the landmark. A guy called Mervyn Victor Richardson created it. He was the guy that started the Victor lawn-mowing company. By the sixties he was filthy rich and built this place for his wife and friends as a retreat. The story was, when he asked his wife where she would like to escape to, she said nowhere. So that’s what he called it. Over the years lots of famous and rich people came to stay here, but it died away after the boom and bust of the eighties and nineties. Now it’s tech
nically worth less that the land it sits on.’
Dru looked over at the dilapidated buildings around him. ‘So, it was an old vacation spot? That makes sense. It’s miles away from anything, but it’s nice around here if you look past the state of the buildings, and the bushland is beautiful.’ His brain was going into overdrive. There would have been a reason some old rich guy brought this exact piece of land, and he was sure it wasn’t just for the scenery. There had to be something else here. Now, if he could find out why, and get the land cheap, he could be onto a winning ticket.
‘Me and the lads have done some quick figures, but I reckon we could do the bulk of the rebuild here over the next twelve months. If we did it in swing shifts, we can keep up our own jobs back home, and just come up here for a couple weeks at a time to get the job done. Now, I know that you probably can’t afford to run a full crew pay wise, but they were happy enough to contribute their time for free for a potential place in the pack and a house each. If they decide to stay that is. That way we keep costs down to the bare minimum. Only outlay would be the building materials, and with these woods around here we might even salvage some of that locally.’
Ashley interrupted him. ‘What pack? What the hell is he talking about Dru? You already have a pack!’
Dru looked at her face. It was pale, her lips drawn tight, and the shine of anger was simmering again through the bright blue irises. ‘What pack, Dru?’ she reiterated.
‘I had an idea to turn this place into a new pack. Something separate from my Dad’s legacy. Something that I built, with a fair and equal chance of membership...’ She cut him off.
‘Are you fucking insane?’ she snapped. ‘You want to throw away leadership and protection of one of the strongest and richest packs in this country so you can set up house here?’ She threw her arms wide, her eyes accosting his own. ‘In this shithole?’
‘Yup,’ Corey admitted, a small grin sitting on the corners of his lips. ‘That’s the idea.’
‘Then you’re both fucking mental!’ she screeched. ‘What do you have to do with this ridiculous idea?’ Her finger pointed at Nicci.
‘Nothing really,’ Nicci gulped. ‘I was kind of hoping I could stay here, but....’
‘You were!’ Ashley’s face was bright red and gone were her smiles and composure. ‘Of course, he would let every stray dog and their mate hang out using his money. Andrew Maxwell, wait until your father hears about this!’
Her voice was radiating around them through the trees, and Dru could feel his chest constrict at her threat.
‘Go on then Ashley, tell him. Run along and give Dad the news. I’m sure he will have some kind of opinion about it. But I would like to remind you both that not only am I a fully grown adult, but that the money I have in my account I have earned. Myself. Through hard work. And what I do with it is my business. You can both just fuck off for all I care.’
Two white spots flushed into Ashley’s cheeks at his words, and her eyes darkened. ‘This isn’t over Dru,’ she hissed.
‘It was over a long time ago,’ he growled. ‘We just didn’t admit it back then.’
She swung on her heels and stormed off towards her car. Dru felt the air deflate from his lungs as she left, and he looked over at Nicci. She was still standing there, pale and fixed on the departing figure of Ashley. When she got far enough away, her eyes swung to meet his. A coldness had seeped in, and it made him shiver. She then turned herself and fled back into the woods, Corey following close behind. And he could not stop either of them.
#
CHapTEr SixTeeN
Nicci felt physically sick. It was all she could do not to transform and run wild. She imagined the flashing of the trees and branches flooding past her face as she went. But now was not the time. She needed to be braver than that now. Think clearer. The sound of Corey’s heavy footsteps following behind her helped to slow herself down.
‘Nicci, wait,’ he called out. She stopped for a moment; her breath tight in her chest. Corey caught up and reached a hand out for her arm.
‘Hey, are you alright?’ She nodded, as red hot tears streamed down her face and fell to the ground. He pulled her into his chest, comforting and warming her. He smelt of nutmeg and cedar, and it reminded her of Christmas.
‘It’s okay,’ he soothed, his hand smoothing out her hair. ‘You’re okay. I’ve got you.’
She cuddled into his arms until the tears stopped, and then she pulled back. Looking at him, she could see the lines of concern etched into the corners of his eyes and mouth. It was impossible to tell through the darkness of his eyes what he was thinking. They seemed to her like endless black pools. His thumb reached up and ran along one tear line.
‘Don’t be upset Nic, Ash didn’t mean anything by it. She’s just angry. Honest. She would never hurt anyone. She’s got a heart of gold; she is just struggling at the moment.’ Nicci wanted to believe him but it was hard to when flashes of Ashley’s mottled red furious face keep flooding back. This wasn’t a woman who couldn’t hurt someone. This was a woman who wanted to hurt everyone. And she suspected it would start with Dru.
‘You can’t know that for sure, Corey,’ her voice sounded shaky even to herself. ‘She’s not just angry - she’s dangerous. And if she was to find out what pack I am from. Or should I say, where we think I am from…She’d tell them. Or worse, she could start a pack war. Even with my limited experience of dealing with other shifters, I know a dangerous situation when I see one. I think I should just keep moving. Staying here could get all of us in serious trouble.’
‘You can’t leave now Nic,’ Corey cupped the side of her face, his eyes looking down into her own. ‘We need you here. I didn’t know that Dru and Ashley were breaking up, but I have been watching first-hand how destructive their relationship has been for both of them. Ashley needs to let him go. And here, with you, Dru found peace. When I saw you two together yesterday, it was a fresh man that I was watching. A happy man. Now, I don’t know what that means for you all in the long term, but I don’t think you should give up on him just yet.’
Nicci watched his face for a moment, and her breath caught in her throat. ‘You’re in love with Ashley,’ she blurted out. Two bright red patches grew on his cheeks, and he dropped his gaze from hers.
‘No, I’m not,’ he stuttered. ‘It’s not like that at all.’ He paused, not meeting her gaze. ‘She’s just angry. I have known Ash for years, and she’s not this person. It was a shock for her, and she just isn’t thinking straight. She’ll come around to it. I know they will both be better off in the long-run without Dru being the pending Alpha. She had always let him get away with everything for the sake of the pack and what it would mean if the two future rulers were to separate. But times have changed. Packs survive with single leaders now. We can make it a more fair system. Not one born of systematic hierarchy. It will change the way we work, but it will strengthen us and more likely to survive as a species. And I also hope it means fewer chances of pack warfare. Without a ruling family, it would be harder for another pack to take us over. We could swap our leaders as we needed to.’
She could see that he was trying to justify the cause. But she also could recognise his hope of a future with Ashley woven deep into the seams of the story. And for a moment it was all she could do not to laugh out loud. Of course Corey loved Ashley. She was perfection. What was there not to love? ‘So how long have you loved her?’
Corey shook his head again, this time a flash of anger pulling his lips shut.
‘It’s not like that!’ he reiterated. ‘We are just friends.’
Nicci smiled to herself. Sure, just like she and Dru were just friends. She let out a little sigh. Why did her life always have to be so bloody complicated?
‘Does Dru know?’
‘Oh my god, Nicci,’ Corey let out a sigh. ‘You are possibly the most annoying woman in the world.’
She lau
ghed. ‘Or the most persistent.’
He gave her a big grin. ‘Yes, that too. Still, it looks like my problems have distracted you from yours, so how about we head back and see how Dru’s going?’
‘Yeah okay,’ she agreed. She hadn’t stopped thinking about him since they left, hoping he wasn’t too upset that she had to clear her head. Something about being near him made it hard for her brain to work. As she walked, Corey looped an arm over her shoulder.
Ahead, she could hear the sharp thumps of the axe swinging. Corey’s muscles drew tighter the nearer they got.
‘Hey Dru,’ he called out to the half naked form in the distance. Even from here, Nicci could see the outline of his muscular build as his arm rose above his head. They got closer and she could see his face was grey, eyes hard, and as he noted Corey’s arm across her shoulder, they drew into tight slits. Corey immediately dropped it.
‘Hello you two,’ he muttered, leaning against his axe, his eyes never leaving Corey’s face. ‘Back from your walk, are you?’
The words were cold and brittle. ‘Corey just came to check and make sure I was alright,’ Nicci replied.
‘I bet he did,’ Dru spat onto the ground beside him before returning his gaze to Corey. She could sense him tremble beside her.
‘Look mate,’ Corey added. ‘Nothing happened. I promise. I would never touch her. We’re just friends.’
‘It’s funny how you always end up being friends with my woman, isn’t it Corey?’
Nicci bristled. His woman?
‘I don’t recall giving you ownership,’ she snapped, folding her arms across her chest. But Dru was too busy eyeballing Corey to pay attention.
‘So, what’s the plan, boss?’ Corey’s voice quavered at the end. Dru finally dropped his gaze and his shoulders dropped. Just an inch.
A Town Called Nowhere Page 9
