by Martha Woods
He nodded and laughed. “I love how you just get everything and I don’t have to do much talking.”
“Take your mother and me out of the picture, Liam. Do what will make you happy.”
“Being with you and free of the pack makes me happy.”
“Then tell her.”
Skylar brought herself to her knees to lace her fingers through his hair. She kissed him and hopped off the bed. “Maybe you can talk to her today.”
“Come with me.”
She smiled. “Okay.”
* * *
Liam’s hand squeezed Skylar’s as they walked toward his childhood home. “You can wait in the car, Sky.” Maybe it wasn’t the best idea for him to bring a human among a pack of wolves but he knew her presence would give him the courage he needed to confront his mother and possibly his father and the entire pack. He was about to refuse becoming alpha.
“I want to come with you. I would really love to meet your mother.”
“Alright, just stay by my side.”
“For moral support?” She asked smiling up at him.
“No, so you don’t get eaten.” She blanched and he grinned. “I’m kidding. No one would dare touch you.” There was feral gleam in his eyes as he added, “You’re mine.”
They stepped into the clearing and immediately, men and women stepped out to study them. “Everyone relax, it’s Liam!” Someone shouted.
“And a human,” another added.
“You were right. I should have stayed in the car,” Skylar whispered nervously.
“You’ll be fine.” Liam nodded to them and continued to his parent’s cabin.
Skylar inspected her surroundings. “Wow, I had no idea there was an entire community out here in the woods. Does everyone in town know?”
“Of course. We go into town from time to time to keep up appearances. Everyone thinks we’re an overly religious cult that choose to live in the woods.” He grinned. “If they only knew.”
He indicated for her to step inside. “This is where I grew up.”
She looked around. “Where are all the pictures? I want to see how adorable you were as a boy.”
“No pictures, baby. I didn’t have a normal upbringing.” Instead of taking pictures and playing football or whatever normal children did, he had been learning how to hunt. And his mother didn’t dare bring a camera into the house for fear of her husband’s wrath. He wanted nothing to do with the human way of life.
Her shoulders fell. “Oh.”
“Don’t worry. Things won’t be that way when we have children.”
Her eyes turned to small saucers and he smirked. “Wait, what?”
“Mom?” he called, deliberately leaving her to wonder.
“Liam? I’m in here,” came a thin voice from another room.
Liam stuck his head into his parent’s bedroom. As always, the sight of his mother sent grief spiral through him. She was sitting up in bed, smiling; her brown eyes bright with happiness. “Honey, I’m so glad you stopped by.” Her eyes jumped to Skylar standing behind him. “And you brought company.” She smoothed her hair. “Oh, now I can imagine how terrible I look.”
Skylar peeked around his shoulders and smiled. “You look beautiful. I’m Skylar.” She looked up at Liam and he nodded. Skylar approached his mother with her hand outstretched. “It’s nice to finally meet you, Mrs. Conway.”
“Call me Leah, dear.” She looked up at Skylar and then at Liam. “She’s lovely, Liam. Such a beautiful spirit… I can tell.”
Skylar blushed. “Thank you, Leah. Um, I should leave you two to talk. Maybe we can chat later?”
“I would love that,” Leah answered. Skylar went back to Liam. “I’ll wait in the living room.”
He planted a quick kiss on her lips. “Don’t go any further.” She nodded and left.
Liam turned to his mother and mustered up a smile, while he pulled a chair closer to her. “Hi, Mom.”
She placed a hand on his cheek. “My boy,” she said lovingly. “She knows about us?”
“She does.”
“Your father won’t be happy.”
“Well, it’s a good thing I don’t care about his happiness, isn’t it?”
Leah sighed, her eyes turning sad. “I like her. I can tell you’re in love.”
Liam rarely blushed but color seeped into his cheeks. “Is it that obvious?”
Leah chuckled and nodded. “Your father isn’t here. Maybe you should take Skylar and leave before he gets back.” She frowned. “I don’t know where he is. He’s hasn’t been home since last night.”
Liam’s jaw clenched. Of course Isaac would leave his dying wife for an entire night without a care. “I’m not going anywhere. Where’s Lucas?” Leah frowned and he reassured her. “I’m not here to fight anyone, Mom.”
“I’m not sure where he is either. After his run in with the hunter, he’s been staying to himself.”
“And Michael?”
“He went into town to get me painkillers. Your father doesn’t know that he’s been getting them for me. You know how he hates human medicine.”
Liam had to stamp down his rage. “That’s it, Mom. You’re coming with me when I leave here. I will kill your husband if I have to.”
Leah gasped. “Liam! Don’t you dare speak like that.”
“But, Mom -”
“I don’t want to hear any of my children speaking about hurting their own.”
He looked down like a contrite child. “Fine.”
She took his hand and he looked back up. “I’m not going anywhere, honey. I will stay loyal to your father and my pack. I hope you came here today with good news. I want to see you and your father repair your relationship before I go, Liam. I want all of my boys together.”
Liam heaved a sigh. “About that. I came to turn down my position as alpha. Dad can find someone else. I’m sure Lucas would jump at the chance to be alpha. Being here doesn’t make me happy, Mom. It never has, but you refuse to see that. I want my own life and I want to live it on my terms. And I want to be with the woman I love. I doubt the pack would accept a human into their midst because of Dad.”
She was staring at him with tear filled eyes. “You really hate it here that much?”
“I only came back for you. I only considered becoming alpha for you. And that isn’t fair to me, is it?”
She let out a sob. “No.” Covering her face, she murmured, “I’m sorry, Liam. I’ve just always had this image of a happy family in my mind. That’s the kind of environment I came from. I thought I could make it happen. It seems I’ve been overlooking the fact that whatever makes me happy doesn’t necessarily make everyone else happy. I’ve been so selfish.”
Liam frowned. “No, you just have a good heart, Mom.” She was way too good for Isaac and way too good to be wasting away because of illness on the outskirts of civilization because of the archaic bastard. He grunted. “Why did you accept Dad as a mate, Mom?”
Her eye watered. “I loved him. I still do. He wasn’t always the way he is now. He was once a loving and carefree man until he took charge of the pack after his father died.”
“I know you’re disappointed that I won’t be alpha, Mom. I’m sorry.”
Tears rolled down her cheek. “Please, don’t be. I want you to be happy, Liam. I just wish we had this conversation before.”
“So do I. It took Skylar saying something for me to realize that’s what I should have done a long time ago.”
Leah smiled. “Oh, I like her already.”
Before Liam could respond, loud growls came from outside, followed by whimpers of pain. Someone had been hurt. Liam jumped up. “Don’t move, Mom.” He rushed to the door. “Sky!”
She ran to him. “Liam, something’s happening.”
The smell of blood reached his nostril and he tensed. He shoved Skylar into his mother’s room. “Stay here.”
He had sensed danger before he even opened the door. Sprinting outside, he assessed the situation while shifting.
He snarled seeing a wolf sprawled on the ground, bleeding and a man lying with blood oozing from his chest. Liam pulled in a breath. It was his father. Was he dead? His eyes shifted to the man holding a sword in one hand and a gun in the other.
Chapter 17
Cayden stood in the middle of the clearing surrounded by gigantic wolves. There was no fear, only rage and hatred flowing through his veins. He stared ahead at the grey wolf approaching him, knowing that none of the others would dare attack him. They were all in human form, afraid and fascinated at the same time, some of them seeing a hunter for the first time up close and person. His family had been their version of a grim reaper for as long as time existed.
Plus he had driven his blade through the heart of their alpha. The cocky bastard had been confident that he could win a fight against Cayden. He had also shot a silver bullet into the side of a wolf that had been brave enough to attack. He aimed his gun at the gray wolf. He knew it was Liam Conway because he’d been watching him for several nights.
Cayden had seen the mysterious billionaire shift a few nights ago and then had taken off into the woods in a hurry. He hadn’t bothered to follow because he had a much more awarding prize in sight; the alpha of the pack living the woods. He had been convinced it was he who had killed his father but when he had taken down the wolf and he shifted into his human form, the man swore he wasn’t the killer. It was his wife.
And that was why Cayden found himself in the middle of a pack of deadly wolf shifters. Stupid, yes, but he was getting really tired of being in Boulder Junction. It was time to make his priority kill, take as many others as he could, and get the hell out of dodge.
“Don’t make this hard, Conway. Just move and let me get to who I came here for‒ the alpha’s wife.”
He could see surprise in the wolf’s eyes and didn’t know if Conway was shocked that he knew it was him or the fact that he came for his mother. Oh, he knew them all because he’s been watching them unseen like a ghost in the night.
“My father was killed by one of your kind a year ago in these woods. The dead old man over there told me his wife did it. So if you let me go ahead and take her life in return then maybe, just maybe, I’ll leave here without killing any more of you.” It was a total lie. He was going to slaughter as many as he could.
The wolf snarled and surprisingly lunged at him even though he had a gun pointed at him. Cayden’s finger pressed the trigger, aiming for Liam’s head but he managed to shift mid-run and rammed into Cayden. Fuck. The bastard was fast, faster than the other wolves he’d encountered.
Cayden hit the ground hard and the gun fell from his hand, but rolled and jumped to his feet, immediately retaliating with a swing of his blade. Liam leapt back, evading the sharp weapon and advanced. They met midair and dropped to the ground and rolled, each fighting to gain the upper hand. Liam’s teeth sank into his arm and he grunted, driving a fist into the wolf’s ribcage. Liam fell back several feet. His eyes gleamed with ferocity and Cayden knew Liam was capable of killing him if the fight continued. Perhaps he had been too confident in his abilities. So he threw his blade with speed and hoped it landed somewhere vital.
Liam growled when the weapon lodged itself in his left shoulder, taking him down. Cayden’s smile fell when he heard another growl and turned to see a brown and white wolf sprinting toward him from the woods with deadly intent. He reached for his gun. “Fuck.” He had dropped it. He took off toward Liam and pulled his blade out of flesh and fur to finish him before the other wolf reached him.
“Cayden, stop!”
Skylar? He came to a halt and spun around, his eyes widening when he came face to face with the barrel of his gun. He lifted his eyes to hers. His heart constricted at the sight of her, which was ridiculous seeing as how she seemed to have lost interest in him and she was holding a gun to his head.
“Sky, what are you doing? Give me the gun and get behind me. I’ll get you out of here.”
Her hand shook as she inched around him, spinning to keep the gun on him. “I can’t let you kill him, Cayden.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I’d rather shoot you.” A tear rolled down her cheek. “I’m sorry, but I will.”
He was momentarily confused. Then his eyes shifted to Liam still in his wolf form, slowly rising. And he knew why he had lost the one woman that stirred up strong feelings in him. She was in love with a wolf shifter. It was there in her eyes, the length she would go to protect him.
Jealousy rolled through him, fueling his rage. His hand tightened around his blade. “Don’t make me have to hurt you, Sky!” he roared, taking a step toward her.
She jumped and stepped back. Liam placed himself in front of her and Cayden saw death in his eyes, a wolf ready to kill to protect his mate. Liam’s eyes challenged him to make a move. Cayden realized that the other wolf was now standing behind him and more had shifted and were inching closer. Well. Shit. If he kept fighting, things wouldn’t end well for him.
“Liam, please no more fighting.”
Skylar’s soft plea reached Cayden’s ear before she stepped out from behind her wolf boyfriend. He snarled, still pissed that she had chosen the abomination over him.
“Cayden, just leave. I don’t want you to get hurt or killed,” she said, glancing around at the several feral creatures who were eying him with menace.
“Why do you care?”
“I still consider you a friend, Cayden. I’m sure you don’t feel the same way about me right now, though.”
He gritted his teeth. He had been falling for her fast and she had friend-zoned him. Great. His nostrils flared as he looked from Skylar to the wolves.
“How about a deal? Give me the woman who killed my father and I leave, peacefully.”
There was a series of growl. “Okay, I guess I’ll die taking down as many of you as you as I can, then. I’m telling you one more time, Sky. Move.” The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her, but if she stayed in the way, he couldn’t guarantee that she wouldn’t be injured. He took one more look at her gorgeous face and lifted his blade.
“She’s dying, Cayden. Isn’t that enough? She’ll be gone in months.”
He let out a frustrated growl. Damn it. He couldn’t help softening a bit every time she spoke. He was such a sucker. “What are you talking about?”
“The woman who allegedly killed you’re father is sick and dying. What kind of a hunter would you be if you struck down a woman who can barely stand?”
He dropped his hand with his blade. “God damn it, Sky. And I can’t even hate you for this.” He took a step toward her and Liam growled. “Cool it, dog. I’m not going to hurt her.” He stopped, his eyes boring into hers. “Walk away with me, Sky. This is no place for you.”
No, she was too sweet, too bright and good. Look at the effect she had on him. She had talked him out of the vengeance he desperately sought for so long. At least he had the satisfaction of killing the pack’s alpha.
She smiled sadly and kissed his cheek. “Go, Cayden, please. You’re surrounded and I still care about you. Go. Take care of yourself.”
He let out a breath. The wolves moved closer and he inched away but his eyes remained on Skylar. “I’ll see you again, Skylar Moore.” He turned hateful eyes to the gray wolf standing behind her before he turned and disappeared.
* * *
Things had calmed down a bit after the hunter ran off. Liam scowled. Okay, so the man hadn’t run off. He had been willing to stay and fight to the death, which Liam found grudgingly admirable. He had left because Skylar asked him to. He eyed her with love and amazement. He would have reveled in further battle with a hunter of legend, but more shifters would have been killed in the process.
She gazed up at him, biting her lip. “I’m sorry I got in the way, Liam. I was terrified he was going to kill you.” She glanced at his shoulder wound, which was already healing and tears filled her eyes. “Are you angry that I stopped everything? That Cayden got away?”
He sighed and pulled her to him, kissing her de
eply. “It’s fine, Sky. If you weren’t here things would have probably gone way worse.” He grinned. “A few shifters here are already whispering that you’re some kind of half human, half magical being. The legendary grim reaper of supernatural creatures walked away because you told him to.”
Skylar rolled her eyes. “Oh for God’s sake. It’s called reasoning. I’ll have to teach you wolf shifters about that.” She pressed her palms against his chest and glanced at his mother’s closed door. “I’m assuming she hears everything with her superhuman hearing and all. Are you ready to talk to her?”
He nodded. Finding out his mother had killed a hunter still had him floored. He laced her fingers with hers and pulled her toward the door. “I’m ready and you’re coming with.”
Leah refused to look at them as they entered. Shame and guilt danced across her pale features. “You should have let the hunter in to kill me. I’ll be dead soon, anyway.”
Skylar gasped. “No, don’t say that, Leah. Liam would never allow that and neither would I.”
She glanced at Skylar and let out a sob. “I’m glad my son found a woman like you. I heard everything. You brought us peace.”
Skylar shrugged. “Well, temporarily.”
“I’ve always wanted peace,” Leah murmured.
Liam shook his head. “That’s why I find it hard to believe you killed a hunter, but you haven’t denied it.”
“I did it a year ago, when I was still strong enough to shift and run. I went out with your father. I was so excited because we hadn’t done anything together in a while. We saw a man snooping around near our community and he had weapons. We knew it was a hunter. It was the first either us had seen one. I begged Isaac to turn back and get to the safety of the pack, but he wanted the bragging rights of killing a hunter. I stood back and watched them fight.” Her eyes lifted to Liam’s. “Your father was injured and the hunter was about to kill him. I jumped out and attacked him while he was focused on Isaac. I was just lucky. I never intended to kill anyone. We never told anyone it was me and Isaac took the credit for killing the man. I didn’t mind. I mean, I thought that would make him love me again.”
