She smiled, thinking about the holiday season coming up. Spending it with family this time around was important for her. She’d never take family for granted again. They always complained that she never came to visit. Her excuse year after year was that her patients and clients needed her help more.
Selene traced the outline of his thick eyebrows with the tip of her finger. His skin color was similar to hers—a smooth tea-colored complexion. He’d shaved recently, but she still detected a hint of stubble along his jawline.
Suddenly, Nick opened his eyes. “Selene.” A slow grin spread across his face.
Her heart raced anxiously. “You’re awake.”
He groaned. “Awake…and feeling awful.”
“I’m sorry, I tried to stop the blood.” She reduced some of the pressure to his side.
“No.” He placed his palm over her hand. “Keep applying the pressure.”
“I thought you would never wake up.”
Nick lifted his hand, catching her off guard. His palm was surprisingly soft as he stroked the side of her face. “You have dimples.”
“Yes,” she said, shyly. A feature she’d inherited from her mother.
“I like them.” He continued to study her face, while his head was cradled on her lap.
“You didn’t have to do that for me. You could have been killed.”
“I’m a man of my words, Selene. I intend to get you out of here.”
“We’ll be separated soon.” She frowned, as awareness set in. How would she save herself now from that sicko they called Darius. She hadn’t been thinking rationally when she’d agreed. All she wanted was for them to let Nick live. “They said they’d be back for me.”
“I won’t let them take you.” He lifted himself, cringing as he bent at the waist.
She steadied him. “Are you okay?”
“Dizzy, yes, but nothing I can’t recover from.” He removed the bloodied cloth from his side.
Selene braced herself again, not sure she’d be able to take in the gruesome wound again. But when she looked this time, the deep claw marks were closed over with what looked like new skin. She gasped. Blood caked around the scar, but most of it was dry.
“How could you have healed that fast?”
“It was nothing,” he mumbled. “Just some scratches.”
“You didn’t see what I saw.” She shook her head in disbelief. “Only moments ago I could see your flesh. The cut was so deep that I didn’t think I could stop the blood flow.”
“Well, you did. Thank you.” He replied. “Now we have to get you out of here.”
“How can we escape this?” She lifted an arm, pointing toward the door. “Even if we did, how would we get past the guards out there?”
“I’ll worry about that,” he said, carefully. “But this is no place for a woman to be.”
“It’s no place for anyone to be.”
“At least we’re out of the cell.” Nick stood and then held his hand out to help her up. “Come.” He led her to the small window near the opposite side of the room. “I’m going to lift you up and I want you to tell me what you see.”
He lifted her effortlessly using only his bare hands until she was eye level with the window. His hands were strong and firm at her waist
She glanced out across the landscape and at the fields through which the guards had carried her. The sun was high in the sky, allowing her a clearer view of the surroundings outside of the dungeon walls.
At first glance, the backdrop was beautiful. Had she not been confined, a view such as this would have been something she would have sat for hours looking at. Majestic mountaintops were as far as she could see. They were still dusted with the evidence of snow, which had likely fallen the week before her visit. The ground and treetops were covered in frost. What was probably lush greenery was now a field of straw, hay, and crumpled grass.
“What do you see?” He urged.
“Nothing but fields and mountains.”
He lifted her higher and the immediate perimeter of the building they were in came into view. “What about now?”
There were two men working outside the shed adjacent to them. “I can’t see the guards, but there are others close by. It looks like they’re hauling wood.” To the right of them, two wolves lay in the clearing next to the field. “There are wolves.”
“How many wolves?”
“Two.”
When Nick set her down on the ground again, she sighed. “There is no escaping. They’ll know.”
“Have hope. We’ll do it this evening, as soon as the sun grazes the mountain tops.” He grabbed her shoulders. “I should tell you this…there is a long history between Darius and me. I have no doubt that he’s holding me for something other than my trespassing.”
“A long history? What do you mean?” Did he know Darius personally?
“Darius has been very spiteful over the last decade. There are things that I can’t actually tell you, but know that I will get you out of here.”
“You’ve known him a decade?”
“I’ve known him longer than that.”
Nick moved to the bathroom stall and she followed. He splashed some water on his face.
“Then you know these people? They’re not strangers to you?”
He turned to glance at her, but did not speak. He seemed to be weighing his words, as his gaze shifted behind her.
“How can I trust you?” She asked.
“You can trust that I will keep my word.”
He sounded more hopeful than she felt. She needed to get out of here and maybe worry about and consequences and repercussions later.
Selene slipped her fingers down into her bra and took out the key. “I grabbed this somehow.”
Picking up the key, he held it between them as they inspected it. “What happened to you before you came here? Why did Darius attack you?”
She swallowed. It wasn’t something she wanted to think about or rehash. “He tried to rape me.”
Nick’s face hardened in fury, and his lips were drawn taut. “I will kill him.”
“No more stalling around here.” She grasped his wrist. “It’s enough. I just want to go home.”
The creases in his forehead disappeared. He opened her hand, and pressed the key into her palm. “As soon as the sun grazes the mountain tops…”
CHAPTER SIX
“Wait.” Selene gripped Nick’s forearm as he bent to adjust his bootstraps.
She was anxious to be free of this dark and congested space. Anxious to escape the deserted town to be back in the city she hated for being so crowded and unsafe. She would have given anything to turn back time, but now that the moment had come to escape, doubt ran through her like a virus.
Would he see her safely back on the road toward her hometown, or would he discover that she was too much of a hindrance and leave her out in the middle of nowhere?
Nick stood to face her, giving his full attention. “You have reservations?”
“Those men seem dangerous.” She swallowed. “I think we need a weapon.”
Selene thought she saw the corners of his lip upturn into a grin, but if he had done so, the expression was gone in an instant.
“Whatever happens, Selene, you stay close to me.”
“I’m just scared is all.”
“We have a clear shot now. You remember our initial plans…we run until we reach the forest.”
“Right,” she whispered, and handed him the key.
“You’re a strong woman.” He took her hand, and squeezed gently. “You’ve made it this far.”
Selene nodded. It had been a long journey. A journey that she suddenly wished she hadn’t taken alone. It was time to face the consequences. She’d gotten herself into this… “Let’s do it.”
He led the way quietly up the stairs, and slid the key in the lock. It fit perfectly in the slot, but when he pushed up on the overhead door, it didn’t give easily. From the way he applied force to it, she could tell that the
re was something else preventing the door from opening.
“What’s wrong?”
“They slid something over it.”
Turning back, Nick pushed up again, harder this time. Dirt escaped the cracks as he lifted. The hinges creaked and the object scraped the floor above them as he shoved. Something crashed and shook the stairs where they stood. The door finally gave way and banged into the floor on the second level above them.
Selene took a deep breath as Nick grabbed her hand and helped her up the stairs and out of the dungeon.
“Hey!” A big grisly-looking man emerged from the corner of the room and rushed them. He had a canteen in one hand and held the other hand up to stop them.
Selene’s heart twisted in fear, and her gut feeling told her that they would not escape without some serious effort.
Nick moved to stand in front of her and they backed up toward the door. “Let us go and there will be no problems.”
Grisly threw the canteen to the ground and some of the beverage splashed on the floorboards. The smell of strong liquor wafted under Selene’s nose.
“Oh, we definitely have a problem,” he remarked, and then rushed Nick in response.
It happened so fast she barely had time to focus on the scene before her. Nick captured the man, twisted him around, and snapped his neck. He fell like a limp mummy. She was frozen in place, until Nick took her hand again.
“Let’s go,” he said.
They made a break for it, dashing toward the fields. She could tell that she slowed him down. His long legs ate up the distance before him, while her shorter one’s fought to keep up. Not once did he let go of her hand.
Her lungs burned as though they were on fire. Her throat was dry as though someone had made her swallow dust. As the wind picked up around them, dirt flew in her face and into her open mouth. She pressed her lips together, but that only caused her to lose her breath even quicker.
Selene thought she heard a howl in the distance, behind them, but it could have been that her ears were playing tricks on her. Her thoughts were incoherent.
Just run. Run.
She never wanted to see the scarred face Darius again. As soon as she reached the highway and a pay phone, she was taking the next bus out of here. Damn her old beat up Honda, purse, and luggage. Her life was worth more.
Her shoes connected with something hard on the ground and she toppled over. Her knees hit the earth and her hands came out in front of her to lessen the impact. She cried out more from aggravation than the pain shooting through her kneecaps.
“I….” She panted, fighting to speak on rapid breaths.
“Selene.” Nick knelt down to help her. “I am so sorry. This was too much too fast.”
“I’m slowing you down.”
“No—”
A wolf howl sliced through the atmosphere around them. She didn’t know what it was…maybe intuition. A warning…
They were being chased.
“We have to keep going,” he urged. “We’ll need to make it across the main highway.”
He helped her up and looped her arm across the top of his back. She limped a couple feet, biting into her lips. The pain was unbearable and she couldn’t bring herself to apply pressure to her right leg, which must have taken the brunt of the fall.
“I can’t.” Selene stopped. “Go without me.”
“No,” he said, angrily.
“One of us should go for help.”
“I’m not leaving you.” He bent and scooped her up in arms, and began half-walking half-running.
She pushed against his chest. “There is no way you will escape them while carrying me.”
He ignored her.
“Nick, put me down, and go get help.”
“I won’t do that.”
There was an animal growl and rustling behind them. She turned her head in the direction the sound, but only saw dusk settling in behind them. “Nick…?” She said, slowly.
He must have sensed it too, because he slowed his pacing and turned around. His grip became tighter around her. “Whatever you see tonight, Selene, just know that I will never ever hurt you.”
Why was he telling her that? Selene tightened her hold on him as well. She might have urged him to leave her only moments early, but the sad fact was that she needed him. She didn’t want to be left alone.
A large black wolf came out into the clearing with fangs barred and ears drawn to the back of its head. It circled them slowly, the yellow eyes piercing them like daggers.
Damn it! Not only were they being chased by some small town lunatics, they were also being cornered by a wild wolf.
Another wolf emerged from the shadows. This one’s fur was deep brown, but the eyes were the same—yellow and menacing.
“Nick,” she whispered, her voice shaking in morbid fear.
The black wolf bucked and snarled, spittle dripping from its muzzle on the ground.
Nick’s gripped loosened on her at the moment, and she wound her arm around his neck seeking his protection.
“I won’t let anything bad happen to you. I promise,” he whispered, as he turned her loose and made her stand behind him. “Stand back.”
The two wolves looked hungry and ready to kill. They encircled them like vultures scouting around an injured animal. Injured. Oh, no. She looked down at the blood on her knee. The animals must have been drawn to it.
She fell back slowly, eyes on the threat before her. Fright overcame her more than the pain in her knee.
Nick immediately took a fighter’s stance, prowling like a predator similar to his opponents. It occurred to her that he had not an ounce of terror in him.
The black wolf lunged at Nick, snapping its massive jaws. Nick sprung back, but not before the wolf captured his boot by its fangs.
Her back hit the trunk of a tree, as her eyes shifted on the fight before her.
Nick wrestled the wolf to the ground, taking the oversized head between his hands. Was he insane? What human would wrestle with a rabid wolf and not be fearful of being bitten?
It was clear that the wolf was gaining the upper hand as it took Nick’s arm in its mouth. Her stomach churned at the first site of blood at the corner of the wolf’s mouth.
Nick jumped up , flinging the wolf off his arm and it slid across the dirt until it came within a few centimeters of hitting an adjacent tree. It got back up and charged at Nick, eating up the distance between them rapidly.
A burst of white light erupted where Nick once stood.
Her breath caught in her throat when she glimpsed a wolf in his place. It was as massive as the other two. There was sort of a majestic beauty to its sleek muscular form. The fur was a chocolate brown with hints of white throughout.
She shook her head, and dug her nails into the bark of the tree.
When the two wolves collided, the blow seemed to vibrate the ground where they all stood. Her gaze shifted frantically from left to right as she tried to focus on the fight. From her days of volunteering at an animal shelter, she wasn’t a stranger to two wild animals fighting. But this was pure insanity…
Only moments ago, Nick had not been an animal.
And she was pretty damn sure that his body had flashed into a wolf as if by magic right before her eyes.
What the fuck?
Had they drugged her?
The second brown wolf stood on the other side, growling and barking, as though waiting his turn to join in. She hoped that he stayed on his side of the field. If someone had told her she’d die from being mauled by a wolf, she might have laughed in their face. Now, the possibility wasn’t that far-fetched.
She should have taken off a long time ago, but her feet were planted to the ground.
The black wolf yelped. Her gaze focused in time to see Nick’s wolf as he pinned his opponent and ripped a chunk of flesh from the neck.
Selene doubled over and dry heaved. Whatever sense she did not have earlier, she gained it back at that moment. Her feet began to move.
/> She walked. Stumbled. Then ran.
She did not want to die. Not tonight. Not like this.
At this point, it didn’t seem to make a difference where she ran. She only wanted to get away from the bloodthirsty wolves. She only prayed that her legs would lead her to a safe place.
Nick flashed back into his human form when he caught scent of Selene again.
He couldn’t believe he’d given himself away like that, but it had to be done. He could never have beaten a Caedmon wolf while in human form. The only options back there were to either reveal himself or be defeated. Being defeating meant allowing Selene to be captured again. He couldn’t let that happen.
He’d have gladly faced Darius again. He yearned to do just that—to defeat him. But Selene needed his help a whole lot more than he wanted to kill that bastard.
Nick scented her sweet fragrance before he heard her. And he heard her muffled cries before he saw her. She was huddled against a tree under thick overhanging branches. Her arms were wrapped around her torso, as though she were consoling herself. He wanted to be the one to comfort her and erase the bad memories that she would undoubtedly gain from this.
“Selene—”
Her scream of shock cut through the atmosphere and lingered on the strong night winds. She stumbled several feet away from him, and held up her palm. “Mantente alejado!”
He didn’t need to be fluent in her native language to know she wanted him to stay away. “I won’t hurt you.”
Her eyes widened. “You’re an animal!”
It was the truth, and she seemed repulsed by it.
His gaze dropped to the ground, and for the second time in his life he was ashamed of what he was. “Yes. Yes I am.”
“How could this be happening? I feel like I’m in some kind of bad dream.”
What he didn’t want to do was frighten her again, so he made no attempts to move any closer. “Even bad dreams come to an end.”
She lifted her gaze to study him. “What are you?”
He swallowed. “I’m wolf…and man.”
“You’re kidding.” She laughed nervously. “Right?”
“I’m afraid not.”
“Then you’re really serious…”
“Selene, we’ve got to move. Others will come looking after what they discover.”
Wolf's Kingdom: (COBRA Coalition) (Caedmon Wolves Book 8) Page 26
