Wild Instincts - Complete Edition (Werewolf Erotic Romance)

by King, Claudia

  "I expect you'll want us to leave," I said at last as I reached the end of my story. "It's the only way to keep the Wood Pack safe, isn't it?"

  There was a long pause. Rowan continued to stare at the wall in silence. Thorne shifted impatiently beside me, and I put a hand on his arm to reassure him.

  "No," Rowan said at last. "That isn't a decision I can make, not now." He looked up at me, his eyes hard. I couldn't tell whether his expression held concern or displeasure. "In the last day I've already gone back on one ruling, what do you think is going to happen if I decide to throw Thorne back to our enemies all over again?" He shook his head, a low growl rumbling in the back of his throat. "An alpha can't be seen to keep changing his mind like this. Half my pack are already questioning me because of what's happened with you two."

  "It doesn't matter what they think," I said. "This isn't about pride, it's about keeping the Wood Pack safe. Who cares if they're upset with you, at least they won't have Cyan and the Mine Pack on their doorstep out for blood."

  "It isn't that simple," Thorne said. "Rowan's right. If he sends us away the pack will think he's indecisive. A coward. It might keep them safe in the short run, but you told me they were on the brink of a riot when he announced his decision yesterday. How long do you think it'll be before those tempers heat up again, and some hothead decides he'd make a better alpha than Rowan?"

  Rowan nodded, grunting in agreement. I glanced from one to the other in surprise. The last thing I'd expected was a consensus between the two of them.

  "You've still got a good head on your shoulders, I'll give you that much Thorne," he said. "If it was just you this Cyan wanted I might be tempted to throw you right back to him, but he's after Lyssa as well. She's done nothing to wrong the Wood Pack. A lot of my people like her, Agatha included, and sacrificing an innocent to save the rest of us is..." He glared at Thorne. "It's never been our way. Especially not if what happened yesterday is anything to go by."

  Thorne rubbed his chin, nodding. The tension between the pair of them seemed to have given way to a begrudging respect, an accord between two alphas who both understood the gravity of the situation they were now faced with. I wondered whether I was getting a glimpse of how their friendship had been before Thorne's exile. Two strong, confident, strategic minds working together to solve a problem.

  "And if the Mine Pack are involved that makes things even more complicated," Thorne said. "The Wood Pack's the only group that's a real threat to them in this part of the forest. If they've decided it's time to attack, I doubt honouring their deal with Cyan is going to stop them. If we go back to Cyan, and he breaks off his attack, the Mine Pack aren't going to forget it in a hurry. We have friends back there, and they're the ones who'll end up suffering if the Mine Pack don't get their way."

  "Everyone suffers when alphas make rash decisions," Rowan sighed. "Me, Cyan, the Mine Pack alpha—what the three of us decide is going to affect the lives of all of our packs."

  "So what are you going to do?" I said.

  "I don't know. Maybe meet with this Cyan and reason with him. Together we might be able to put an end to the Mine Pack once and for all, if he sees sense."

  Thorne shook his head. "I tried making Cyan see sense for months on end. His instinct's too powerful, and it's been in control of him too long for him to change his ways now. The way he used to treat Lyssa..." He grit his teeth, and I felt his arm tense beneath my hand.

  I gave him a reassuring squeeze, but I could feel the anger brimming inside him. Now that I was Thorne's mate, the knowledge of what Cyan had done to me wasn't going to be easy for him to let go of. Thinking about what might happen if the two of them came face to face again frightened me.

  "Then I'll challenge him." Rowan said. "If he's as impulsive as you say he is, he'll have to agree to it."

  I shifted uncomfortably. One alpha challenging another was one of the few werewolf traditions that held a universal respect and understanding amongst the packs. If an alpha killed the leader of a rival pack, or forced him to submit, his followers were obliged to fall in line with the victor. It was barbaric, but it was a primal part of our nature that few were able to ignore.

  "And what if Cyan wins?" I said.

  "Then he'll have the whole of the Wood Pack behind him." Rowan grimaced. "At least then none of our people will have to worry about the Mine Pack any longer."

  "And Lyssa and I will be at his mercy," Thorne said.

  "But there's still going to be a fight," I cut in. "Even if you track Cyan down and challenge him, none of us are going to be safe in the meantime. Not with the Mine Pack around."

  "Then we'll fight," Rowan said. "My people know how to stand their ground. We won't let them take an inch of our territory."

  I glanced at Thorne, and he returned my look of concern. The Wood Pack might have had the numbers, but they weren't a clan of fighters. What would happen to people like Agatha once the claws and fangs came out?

  "Some of us are going to get hurt," I said.

  "There's nothing we can to do stop that," Rowan replied, his jaw set firmly. "I'll need every able bodied wolf by my side. And I'll need you two to stay out of the way. I won't risk Cyan getting his hands on you and ruining everything."

  "We can't just sit back and watch!" Thorne exclaimed.

  Rowan rose to his feet, glaring. "I'm your alpha, and you'll do as I say!"

  "I don't remember you welcoming me back into the pack."

  "And I don't remember allowing you to stay in our territory unless you followed my instructions. You and Lyssa will stay out of this."

  Thorne and Rowan stared each other down, but my mate remained silent. Rowan had made up his mind.

  By the time we stepped out of the cabin the sun was up and the rest of the pack were beginning to stir. It wouldn't be long before Rowan gathered them all to announce the latest problem Thorne and I had brought to their doorstep. I just hoped it wouldn't result in a repeat of the scuffle I'd gotten caught up in the last time.

  "Don't spend all day blaming yourselves," a familiar voice said from behind us, and I turned around to see Agatha leaning against the wall of Rowan's cabin.

  "Were you out here listening the whole time?" Thorne said.

  The old woman nodded. "I've gotten good at listening outside Rowan's door when people come rushing to see him at unexpected hours. He's too fond of keeping things to himself, that boy." She straightened up and gestured for us to follow as she headed back down the path towards the central meeting area. "It sounds like we're in for worse problems than deciding on whether Thorne gets to stay with us or not."

  "All thanks to us again," I said bitterly.

  "What did I just say about spending all day blaming yourselves? Think positive. Think practical. That's what the pair of you should be good at after everything you've been through."

  "But what are we supposed to do?" Thorne said. "Rowan doesn't want us involved. It's up to him to fix this now."

  "We're not part of his pack." I took Thorne's arm. "We don't have to do what he says."

  Agatha grunted as we approached the meeting area. "I don't know if I'd recommend running off and trying to fix things all by yourselves, but I'm sure the pair of you can figure something out. It'll do us more good than leaving Rowan to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders." She picked up her walking stick from where it sat propped up against one of the log seats around the central fire. "And don't go back out to the orchard tonight. Stay in Lyssa's lodge. It'll be dangerous for the two of you to be out there by yourselves from now on."

  "I wasn't planning on it," Thorne said.

  "Good. Now put that smart head of yours to use and figure out what you can do. I'm going to round up the rest of the old folk and the kids to make sure they stay safe." She tapped Thorne's leg with her stick before shuffling off, leaving us alone together.

  "What do you think we should do?" I asked.

  "I don't know," Thorne's brow creased. "Not yet, anyway. Let's wait for Rowan to gat
her everyone and lay out his plan, then we'll decide."

  It didn't take long for word to get around that something was happening, and within the hour the entire pack had gathered once again at the communal meeting spot to hear their alpha speak. Rowan's address was short and firm, his eyes hard and his tone decisive. I remembered our conversation in the cabin, and wondered just how much of the confidence in his voice was genuine. He had to appear in control no matter how many doubts he had. With the pack already divided over his last decision, any more dissent could be disastrous.

  I stayed close to Thorne the whole time, glancing across the rows of faces around me, my stomach tightening whenever I saw a grimace or a frown of displeasure. But to the pack's credit, they kept their cool this time. The muted whispers that began once Rowan announced his decision to stand up to Cyan and the Mine Pack were put to a swift and abrupt halt as the alpha roared for silence the second he heard them. It was clear he was in no mood for arguments, and the pack listened attentively as he laid out his plans.

  "I need every able wolf scouting the north edge of our territory. They'll be moving as a group, so I want to know where to meet them the second they arrive. If we can put on a show of numbers, it'll give me time to call out this Cyan and challenge him, hopefully before anyone gets hurt. Once I win, the Mine Pack should turn and run with their tails between their legs, but stay sharp, and keep your eyes on anyone who isn't part of our pack the whole time."

  I couldn't be sure, but I felt as though his gaze flicked in the direction of me and Thorne with those last words. The Wood Pack murmured their obedience, but the same question was clearly on everyone's minds: What if you lose?

  Rowan gave out his orders to those closest to him, his strongest and most loyal hunters, while the rest of the pack milled about conversing in low tones. Through the crowd I caught a glimpse of Agatha and Niya gathering a group of their own as they issued instructions, though none of their followers looked like fighters.

  Thorne and I were left isolated from the rest of the group, cold glances and accusatory stares being thrown our way whenever we made eye contact with the others. Nobody was saying it, but the hostility was clear. Despite Rowan's reasoning, they all knew we were the ones responsible for bringing this conflict to their door.

  We stayed out of the way, Thorne's arm around me as I clung to his side, taking comfort in his presence. If nothing else, he was my safe island amongst the increasingly tense atmosphere of the pack. If I stayed close to him, I could control my fears.

  "What happens if Cyan wins?" I whispered to my mate, looking up at him.

  "I won't let him have you," he said. "We outran him and the Mine Pack once before, we'll do it again. We can go back to the city, take your mom and sister and get out of here. Find some place with other wolves, far away from all this."

  "But where?"

  Thorne remained silent.

  I'd never heard anyone talk about werewolves living anywhere else in the world. For all we knew the packs in our forest were the only ones in existence. How long could the pair of us make it without the company of our own kind?

  "Thorne, Lyssa."

  I turned my head as Niya pushed her way through to reach us.

  "Come over here, you'll want to hear this." She motioned for us to follow.

  I shared a glance with Thorne before hurrying after her.

  Niya led us to one of the smaller fires off to the side of the central area. A group of people had gathered around a timid looking dark-haired girl who sat perched on the edge of a log seat. I remembered running into her a handful of times since I'd arrived, but she had always been shy and evasive, hiding behind her curtains of long hair and staring down at the ground as she mumbled and hurried off in another direction. She couldn't have been older than eighteen, but her eyes looked tired and lined, the backs of her hands marked with tiny white scars where they fidgeted in her lap.

  "Sabi, tell Lyssa and Thorne what you told us," Niya said, sitting down beside the scrawny girl and resting a hand on her shoulder. Sabi looked at us for a second before glancing away again, her eyes flitting to and fro like a trapped deer.

  "She was with the Mine Pack before she ran away," Niya explained, her expression sombre. "She went through a lot living with those brutes."

  "I think—" the dark-haired girl said suddenly. "I think I know Cyan. If he's the same one he— he was with the Mine Pack too, back before I left."

  "Cyan was one of them?" I exclaimed.

  "Makes sense," Thorne said. "The dark fur, the attitude, the instinct. Those are all symptoms of a Mine Pack bite."

  Sabi nodded rapidly. "Yes, his instinct was the worst. He had to challenge everyone. He could never sit still. People were afraid of him. They drove him out in the end, after he challenged Arrow, the old alpha."

  "Did he lose?" I said. I could feel the small gathering around Sabi listening intently. If Cyan had a track record of going toe to toe with other alphas, it wouldn't bode well for his confrontation with Rowan.

  "Yes and no," she said, wringing her hands together. The poor thing seemed almost frantic with so much attention focused on her, but we needed to hear this. "Arrow was losing, then the others—his personal guard—stepped in to end the fight. Cyan was furious. He said— he said they robbed him of his chance to become alpha. Arrow had him driven out after that. We never saw him again."

  "Lyssa and I saw a young wolf from the Mine Pack on our way here," Thorne said. "He had the look of an alpha. Was that Arrow?"

  Sabi shook her head. "Arrow was old. He died a month after the fight. Cyan hurt him really bad, and he just couldn't recover from it. Hail was the new alpha when I left, he's probably the one you saw."

  "So Cyan killed the old alpha," Thorne muttered.

  "An old and mean one," an elderly woman said beside me.

  A heavy silence fell over the small group as the gravity of Sabi's story sank in.

  "Would the Mine Pack really help Cyan again, after driving him out?" I said at last.

  Sabi shrugged, staring down at her scarred hands. "They do what they want to get what they want. They don't have rules or honour."

  "Not if they'd interfere with a challenge to their alpha," Thorne said. "I don't like this. There's too much that can go wrong with Rowan's plan."

  "I don't think we'll be able to persuade him to change his mind on it now," Niya said. "Besides, what alternatives do we have?"

  "I don't know." Thorne grit his teeth, and I could feel his frustration building as he repeated the phrase for what felt like the dozenth time that day. "This is down to me and Lyssa. We should be the ones dealing with it."

  "Rowan wouldn't ever send you out there in his place," Niya said softly. "Despite what he says. We just have to hope—"

  Thorne growled and shook his head sharply, tugging his arm away from me as he turned his back on the group. I started to follow him as he went, but Niya hurried after me and caught my arm.

  "Give him some space," she said. "It's his instinct, it's bothering him. He hates feeling helpless. Just give him a moment to calm down."

  "I know what it is," I replied, a note of irritation in my voice. "But he doesn't need to deal with it all by himself, especially not at a time like this."

  She paused, her lips pressed together tightly. Then she said what had been on both of our minds, unspoken, ever since we'd met. "I suppose that's why you'll make a better mate for him than I ever would have."

  I started to respond, but the words caught in my throat.

  "You understand his instinct, don't you?" she said. Her voice was soft.

  I hesitated for a moment before nodding. "I think so."

  "I never did. It frightened me. I wanted to pretend it didn't exist, that he could keep it hidden his whole life."

  "It's part of who he is," I said. "It's what makes him an alpha."

  "I suppose it does. Will the two of you leave, after this is over? To start your own pack? If it all... ends well."

  "I don't know." I gla
nced after Thorne, biting my lip. "I suppose we will, one day. He needs his own pack, and I need to be with him."

  Niya followed my gaze, and when she spoke again it was accompanied by a gentle squeeze of my arm. "I really am glad he found you, Lyssa. He deserves to be happy. He was my best friend, but—" She raised a hand to her mouth, firelight glinting on the tears that threatened to fall from her eyes. "I wanted a different Thorne. Someone he can't ever be."

  I smiled at Niya, moisture pricking at my own eyes as I took hold of the hand gripping my arm. It hadn't been voiced, but part of me had needed this. Her approval. Her blessing.

  "He could still use a friend after all this is over," I said, trying my best to keep my voice even. "We both could."

  She returned my smile and nodded, brushing the tears from her eyes with the back of a hand. "I'd better go and find Agatha again, there's lots to do still. You take care of Thorne."

  "I will. Good luck."

  She gave my hand a squeeze, then turned away, straightening up and clearing her throat as she scanned the crowd for Agatha.

  Internally, I added Niya to the list of people I prayed would come out of this unharmed.

  Thorne's long strides had given him a sizeable head start on me, and despite hurrying I still didn't catch up till I'd followed him all the way back to the orchard. The door to the lone building stood ajar, tapping against the frame as it swung gently in the wind. I slipped inside and found Thorne sitting on the edge of the mattress, hands clasped together, his brow knotted in thought.

  "Agatha said we should stay with the others," I said softly.

  "I needed space to think," he sighed through clenched teeth, shaking his head. "But I can't. It's... my wolf's in here, telling me to do something, to take charge, and I can't give him what he wants. I don't know if I can just stay put till all of this is over."