by Anya Nowlan
As he did, footsteps caught his ear, and a moment later, a woman ran into his arms, bouncing off his chest. Her breathing was ragged as she steadied herself, and Tate grabbed her elbows so she wouldn’t stumble over her own feet.
“Whoa, there,” he said, but it didn’t look like she even heard him.
Gripping on to his forearms, she drew in a breath, her hair falling in strands around her face.
“Please, run,” she whispered, glancing behind her. “He’s close.”
That put Tate’s animal instincts on edge. Someone was chasing this woman, someone she was clearly terrified of. She started to push past him as they still held on to each other. Her feet got caught in his and she almost tumbled down, but he caught her, pulling her up to face him.
He wasn’t about to let her run off, with god knows who on her trail. At 6'5" and built firm and strong, he was used to any troublemakers he happened to come across backing off just at the sight of him. And if there was one thing he couldn’t stand, it was poor excuses for men terrorizing women.
Cowards, all of them.
“All right, little lady. Calm down,” he said, placing a hand on her shoulder. “Who’s after you, a boyfriend, husband?”
“No, no, you don’t understand,” she rushed over her words.
When she finally looked up at him, her huge, round blue eyes staring into his, the terror in them was clear to see. Pale, except for her flushed cheeks, the woman’s gaze darted across his face, searching for something.
Tate had time to notice whoever she was or whatever trouble she was in, she was beautiful, with a spatter or freckles over her button-nose. He bet she was gorgeous when she smiled, and he got a feeling she did that often. Not now, though. But before either of them could say anything else, a voice like no other he had heard before boomed out into the street.
“Tessa Mayberry!” it said. “Return what is mine.”
A man suddenly stood in the middle of the street, equally tall and wide as Tate, with his dark hair slicked back into a low ponytail. Tate’s wolf clawed at his insides, whimpering and growling, telling him something was wrong. Sniffing the air, the woman’s scent came to Tate easily, warm, with notes of something that reminded him of jasmine.
But the man… His smell was off. It made Tate’s mouth taste like burning, the acridity unpleasant at the back of his throat. His skin tight and his wolf on high alert, Tate narrowed his eyes at the man, trying to rationalize what his senses were telling him.
“Excuse me,” he said, standing in front of who he assumed was the Tessa. “What’s your issue with this woman?”
“Step aside. She has something that belongs to me,” the man replied, his gaze firmly on Tessa as if Tate wasn’t there at all, taking a step forward.
There was a heaviness to the way he walked, an oddness to his movements Tate couldn’t quite grasp. He turned back to Tessa, only now noticing there was something clutched in her hand, gold poking out from between her clenched fingers.
What the hell have I stumbled into?
“He’s not human,” Tessa whispered, squeezing his arm.
“And what exactly does that mean?” Tate arched a brow at her.
“I don’t know,” she shook her head. “He came into my store, said his name is Loch…”
“Enough,” Loch called out, the sound of his voice making Tate’s wolf snarl beneath his skin. “Give me the amulet, or I rip you both to pieces.”
Loch took another step forward, but it brought him a lot closer to Tate and Tessa than it should have. Tate shook his head, frowning. Tessa yelped behind him, her heartbeat loud in his ears.
“You better back off,” Tate growled, letting his animal side float closer to the surface. “Whatever you want from her, you’re not getting it.”
Loch slowly blinked at him, his eyes dark and flat, his skin dull and ashy. In the light of the midday sun, he looked a man possessed, like someone had just scraped a fresh body out of the dirt and animated him as human.
“A wolf,” he remarked, thin lips stretching downward. “A leader without kin,” he added a moment later, looking him up and down.
“Look, you creepy fuck,” Tate shot back, his temper flaring. “I said back off.”
Loch grinned at him, spreading out his hands. The edges of his frame were waning, turning fuzzy in the sunlight, like a mirage disappearing.
“Why get involved, wolf?” Loch said. “Walk away, and you will be spared.”
“Fat chance of that,” Tate replied. “I became involved the moment this woman here ran into me.”
His wolf almost purred when he spared a glance Tessa’s way, her features tense as she stared at Loch, her knuckles white around whatever it was that she was holding. Loch’s jaw squeezed together, his eyes narrowing.
“That’s a mistake you’ll grow to regret,” Loch ground out, before popping out of existence, like a soap bubble bursting.
Tessa sucked in a breath, her free hand still firmly around his arm. Tate’s wolf relaxed, if only a fraction. Standing there in the empty street, with a woman he didn’t know, staring at the spot where a man had been standing just a second ago… Tate couldn’t help but think…
What the fuck is going on?
Three
Tessa
Trying not to hyperventilate, Tessa uncurled her fingers from around the arm of a stranger who had just saved her life, and sagged against the red bricks of the building to her right.
There was a chill in her bones that even the sun beating down at her couldn’t remove, and there were too many things racing through her brain for her to even form a complete thought.
“Hey, hey,” the stranger said, crouching down beside her. “Deep breaths, it’s okay. He’s gone.”
“Thank you,” she muttered, waiting for the Earth to stop spinning out of control. “If you hadn’t been here…”
“Well, I was, and you’re going to be okay,” he assured her. “I’m Tate, by the way. I take it you’re Tessa.”
“Yes, that’s me,” she replied, brushing the hair out of her face and lifting up her head.
Tate was still crouched down, studying her with concern in his clear gray eyes. Even stooped down, he still towered over her, broad-shouldered, with bulging biceps peeking out from under the sleeves of his t-shirt. Where Loch’s size intimidated the hell out of her, Tate made her… almost relaxed. As relaxed as one could be after having faced whatever apparition Loch was.
I don’t believe in stuff like that, Tessa reminded herself, bordering on hysterics.
But maybe she should?
“Did I say ‘thank you’ already?” she asked, staring at his face.
“You did,” he smiled, reaching out for her hand when she got herself back onto her feet. “But do you mind telling me what the hell that was all about?”
“If only I knew,” she shook her head, gaze darting all around her, as if she was waiting for Loch to reappear at any second. “This has something to do with it, though,” she added, unclenching her fist and revealing the necklace.
Tate studied it, rubbing a hand over his square, stubbled jaw. Despite her brush with what would have certainly been her death if Tate hadn’t come along, Tessa found herself mesmerized by her savior.
Not the time for ogling, she reminded herself, but it didn’t do much good.
There was a rugged charm to him that was undeniable, a powerful masculinity that made her body wake up and pay attention. It would be just her luck that she would run into the most handsome man in Whitefish while escaping from a…
“What do you think he is, Loch I mean?” she asked, since she sure as hell had no clue. “He’s not human, that’s for sure.”
While shifters were kind of an unspoken fact in the world, Tessa hadn’t heard of any of them being able to literally burst out of existence. But that still seemed like a likelier possibility, Loch being a shifter of some sort, than him being human.
“I don’t know, but he definitely wanted to get his hands on this,�
� Tate replied, pointing his chin at the amulet.
“Yeah,” she said, running her thumb over the green stone in the middle of it. “Anyway,” she shook her head, squaring her shoulders. “Thanks for the hundredth time,” she added, tucking the amulet in her pocket, scrambling back up to her feet with leaden limbs and turning to leave.
“Wait, whoa. Where do you think you’re going?” he asked, stepping in her way.
“Uh… Back to my store?” she replied, shrugging.
To be honest, she hadn’t really thought her next move through, yet. Coming up with a plan wasn’t easy when you didn’t know what you were up against. Not that she had any notion that she could stand up to whatever Loch was, truthfully. Maybe she was still in shock. That was very probable, actually.
But she couldn’t just stay standing in the middle of the street. And she couldn’t pull Tate into the insanity she had stumbled into. In the back of her mind, the slight chance of all of this being just a very confusing nightmare still seemed like the likeliest choice to explain everything.
“The store Loch chased you out of not long ago?” he countered, arching a brow at her.
“You think he could be there, waiting for me?” she asked, chewing on the inside of her lip.
“Well, I don’t really know, but do you want to take that chance?” Tate reasoned.
“No, definitely not,” she replied, shoulders dropping. “I’ll go home, then. He can’t know where I live… I think,” she frowned. “Anyway, you’ve done enough.”
Tessa started to walk away, but Tate wouldn’t budge, still standing in her way. The first step had her almost bumping into his wide chest again. It wasn’t an altogether unpleasant feeling.
“That’s very brave and selfless of you, but also really stupid,” he said, tilting his head at her.
“Excuse me?” she huffed, a modicum of her usual sass making an appearance.
“Hear me out. Obviously this Loch character is as dangerous as he is creepy, with the whole disappearing into thin air thing and everything. And did you see the way he blinked, like some sort of lizard? No offense, but you’re no match for him. And I have a feeling he’s going to be back for that thing.” He glanced at her pocket, cocking a brow.
“And you’re a match for him?” she questioned.
Tate did look very… physically active, would be the polite, understated way of saying it. But against Loch’s seemingly supernatural abilities, would that be enough?
“I did get rid of him, didn’t I?” he countered.
“I’m not sure it had everything to do with you,” she said, recalling the way Loch had seemed to literally fray at the edges before disappearing.
“Ouch,” Tate replied, his hand flying to his heart. “He did seem threatened by my wolf, though.”
“Oh, right,” she muttered. “You’re a…” she started to say, before cutting herself off.
“You can say shifter, it’s not a dirty word,” he grinned.
“Right. Of course,” she replied.
Way to put your foot in it, Tessa.
Shifters weren’t a secret, not anymore, at least. There was still something a little mysterious about them. Probably because they liked to stick together, and didn’t really let outsiders in on their traditions and customs.
Tessa didn’t blame them for being a little cautious. Humans had a pretty bad track record when it came to those who were different. All in all, shifters had integrated into human society fairly well, and there hadn’t been any major conflicts for a while now as far as she could remember.
“But… Loch isn’t any kind of shifter, is he?” she had to ask.
“No kind I’ve ever seen,” Tate shook his head. “Put my wolf right on edge. And there was no animal smell to him. I would’ve noticed.”
“So he’s something else,” Tessa nodded to herself.
It wasn’t exactly comforting, but at least she had one option ruled out. That had to count for something. Two, really. Not human, not shifter.
“Right. And I’m not leaving you to fend for yourself,” he said, crossing his arms in front of him.
“Uh…” Tessa muttered, trying to look anywhere but his rippling muscles. “But you don’t even know me,” she finally argued, fixing her gaze somewhere in the distance.
Frowning, Tate glanced behind him.
“What are you looking at?” he asked.
“Nothing,” she quickly replied. “There was a… cloud. In a funny shape,” she added, feeling her face grow red.
I really need to learn when to shut up.
“All right,” Tate drew out, raising his brows at her. “And you’re wrong. I do know you. You’re Tessa Mayberry, and you run some sort of store. How am I doing so far?”
“Everyone in this town knows that,” she scoffed.
“So you would refuse the help of everyone in town, or am I special somehow?” he countered.
“Are you like a thrill-seeker or something?”
“Just a helpful wolf,” he grinned at her, and she couldn’t help but smile back.
There was something about him that put her at ease. And she wouldn’t delude herself – if Loch came back and she was alone, she would be easy prey. Could she really afford to turn down Tate’s help?
Not if I want to live, a part of her scoffed.
One thing was for sure – the day certainly wasn’t boring anymore.
Four
Tate
“All right, if you insist on helping me… I can’t afford to say ‘no’,” Tessa said, making Tate’s wolf let out a satisfied growl.
Something about Tessa had unlocked a deep protective instinct inside him. There was no way he would let her go off on her own with that creature after her. And he couldn’t deny his curiosity – who or what was Loch? And what was so special about that damn amulet?
It wasn’t like Tate had anything better to do, either. Keeping Tessa safe and unraveling this mystery gave him purpose, something he hadn’t had in a long while. The fact that it came with the possibility of spending more time with her, well, it wasn’t exactly a problem.
“Smart choice,” he grinned at her, making her shake her head.
“It’s not on me if we get killed, though,” she added. “I didn’t want to get you involved.”
“Gruesome death at my own risk, got it,” he nodded, and she rolled her eyes at him.
“You’re an odd guy, Tate,” she grinned.
“Says the lady getting chased around town by some supernatural creature.”
He quirked a brow at her.
“That’s fair,” she shrugged. “Anyway, we better get moving. And I’ll need to go by the store first.”
“Didn’t we agree we should probably avoid that place?” Tate asked.
“Yes, but I just thought of something. There were some old books and journals in the boxes I got today, from the same estate as the pendant. If we’re going to figure out what this is all about, I think that’s as good a place to start as any.”
She had a point, there. And Tate didn’t have a better plan. In fact, he was flying by the seat of his pants, something he rarely allowed himself.
Curious times call for curious measures, he decided to himself.
“Lead the way,” he said.
Side by side, they started down the street. Tate watched Tessa from the corner of his eye, studying the lines of her profile. Damn, she was gorgeous, with a softness to her that drew him in. He’d get whiplash soon if he kept pretending to turn his attention away every time she caught him staring.
She worried her pouty lower lip between her teeth as they walked, the loose-fitting t-shirt she wore unable to hide her lush curves. Tate had to swallow down a growl, confused at how immediately taken he was with her.
When they came upon an open door on a street of shop fronts, she stopped. Mayberry Antiques, the red, looping letters read on the window, with books and china artfully on display.
“This is it,” she announced, hesitating at the doorframe.
Tate huffed in a breath, catching both the overwhelming scent of old knickknacks and the eerie hint of Loch’s personal stench.
“There’s a faint smell of him lingering, but it’s already fading. And I don’t hear anyone inside,” Tate told her, and she seemed to relax a little at that.
“Already useful,” she muttered, stepping in through the open door.
The place looked cozy, not spacious exactly, but not claustrophobic, either. A counter stood near the back wall, handmade from oak, by the looks of it. The top of it had been glass, before someone had smashed it.
Now, it was shattered, shards of glass resting on the red velvet housing some rings and earrings, and scattered on the floor. Tessa carefully stepped over the broken pieces, shoving aside the latch door of the counter.
Tate followed her into a small backroom, keeping his senses sharp. Cardboard boxes were strewn around there, some of them ripped open. All sorts of items lay on the floor, haphazardly thrown around.
“Looks like Loch’s been here,” he noted.
“Uh… Actually, that was me,” Tessa admitted, blushing again. It looked adorable on her. “He was kind of impatient when it came to the amulet-thingy.”
“Are those the books?” Tate pointed at some leather-bound volumes near a shelf marked ‘garden junk’.
“Yup,” she replied, and they both bent down to pick them up.
There were four altogether, some thicker than others, with no titles on the cover or spine. Tate flipped through one, a mix of typed letters and handwritten notes.
“We should probably go through them somewhere else,” he said, weighing the heft of the book in his palm.
“You’re right,” she sighed. “I just hate leaving the place like this.”
“Just for now,” he replied, almost placing a hand at her shoulder before thinking better of it. “We’ll get to the bottom of this, and I’ll personally help you clean everything up.”
